Ashes
by missdromeda
Summary: Elysar Moven is a not a Jedi. At least, not anymore. She is 'technically', but if you asked her, she would quite possibly throw you a seething glare and return to her Archive duties.
1. foreword

**A/N: **_Heeeey there, yes that's me. Yes, this is another fic. I promise it's gonna be funny guys, just you wait. I've loved Star Wars ever since I was little and have finally decided to contribute something to this amazing fandom. At least, I hope this fic can be considered a contribution lol_

_The first few chapters are set before "The Phantom Menace", just to kind of establish Elysar's backstory and to introduce her as an independent character. She's not just going to be Obi-Wan's sidekick, nah-uh, that position's already taken (sorry Ani)._

_Oooh and there's a trailer you guys! I'm gonna leave the link to it in my bio, so feel free to check it out. It's sort of a crack!vid so yeah, I hope you'll enjoy it! _

_xxx, Marie_

* * *

Elysar Moven is a not a Jedi. At least, not anymore. She is '_technically'_, but if you asked her, she would quite possibly throw you a seething glare and return to her Archive duties.

It was a truth universally acknowledged that Elysar Moven has always excelled in everything. Initiate Trials? Breezed through them. Knock down Obi-Wan Kenobi at the Apprentice Tournament? Oh, yes she did. Fluent in the Jedi Code? She could recite it in her dreams, in multiple languages at that, including Mando'a, thank you very much.

Daughter of a Coruscanti Senator and a flighty socialite from the green plains of Serreno, Elysar was destined for a greatness, of sorts. Be that a wife of a noble Duke or a politician with ambitions as fat as his pockets, her parents held grand aspirations for their only daughter. Aspirations that, come her second birthday, turned into naught when a certain man in Jedi robes appeared on the doorstep of their mansion.

Elysar's father, who didn't quite hold the peacekeepers of the Galaxy in high esteem, had his qualms about a Moven joining the Order, but after careful consideration and some persuading from the girl's uncle, Elysar was sent to the Temple to train as a Jedi.

Unlike her fellow younglings Elysar knew, or was at least vaguely aware of her origins. Such knowledge, however, came with a heavy burden of expectations set upon her scrawny shoulders. She had to do better, Elysar told herself, she had to be smarter, stronger, faster, for it was the only way to earn the recognition she so craved. Looking back at the early years at the Temple, Elysar couldn't but pity her desperate need for validation. She would do anything a Master asked if it meant that her talents and efforts were noticed.

She would be smarter, stronger, _faster_.

It was exactly that diligence and unwavering commitment to the Jedi ideals that caught the eye of Master Mace Windu. He saw potential in her lightsaber skills, Master Windu would later tell his young Padawan; potential that, if honed with careful guidance and precision, could grow into something more.

Elysar Moven would have most likely lived up to this potential, if not for a particular mission that sent the young Padawan's whole life spiraling down a dark abyss. The Council saw fit to reward her valor with the long-awaited anointment which suddenly lost its once dazzling allure.

Elysar Moven might have become a Jedi Knight, but she would never be herself again.


	2. one

chapter one:

**_fast fliers and good company_**

**"FOCUS ON YOUR BREATHING.** Even in out, slowly, seek to control it. You have to be at peace with yourself, for it is when you are most precise and collected," Elysar instructed the group of Younglings, "Remember, your opponent's anger is your greatest advantage. Use it against them."

The training room was engulfed in bright morning light streaming from a broad window. It overlooked the grand landscape of the city, skyscrapers soaring in the sky, piercing through puffs of wandering clouds, skycars racing the busy streets — Elysar had always found peace in the chaos of Coruscant.

Hands locked behind her back, she walked around the room carefully inspecting her pupils' stances — they were only children, with training lightsabers in their small hands, barely able to secure a proper hold on the weapon. Some Younglings were so tiny, the 'sabers almost outweighed them, stretching as tall as the children wielding them.

"Nice job, Tara," Elysar gave a little Rodian girl a gentle smile and stopped before the class, "Alright, you can _now_ pull down your helmets."

She knew that was their favourite part of the lesson, possibly the very thing they looked forward to every day. Elysar told them that lightsabers were not toys and training — no game, but the giddy looks on their faces always took all the sternness out of her voice. They were children, after all.

She watched the Younglings deflect blaster shots from the training droids with precision and mindfulness, not missing a beat. Elysar had been teaching them lightsaber combat for two years now and found that she grew quite used to those little sessions. She was no Master, however, merely filling in for Master Drallig or Master Yoda when the opportunity arose, as part of her own training.

Elysar's eyes fell on an overeager boy in the back of the class, who was jumping all over the place as if he were in the thick of battle. She pursed her lips, fighting a smile, "It is not a competition, Ambrose," Elysar chastised. It came out rather half-heartedly, "Mind your surroundings. The Force will certainly guide you, but please do try to help it."

She watched the Younglings with intent, assessing their languid movements and after some time found herself almost lulled by the buzz of lightsabers. Her eyes followed the shining weapons that met read blaster shots at every turn, and Elysar thought of the last time she had wielded one. The sound of screams filled her ears, distant yet haunting. She could hear her heart pounding in her head, sweaty hands gripping the curved handle of the 'saber. It ignited with a _woosh, _throwing bright magenta light on...

A foreign presence in the Force jarred Elysar out of her trance. She whipped her head to the door and sure enough, there stood a girl with long hair as white as snow, a wide grin on her slightly angular face, "They said yes?" Elysar asked, careful not to make any assumptions.

The girl nodded slowly, her smile widening, "They said yes!"

"Oh Gods, Darsha! Congratulations!" figuring that she should probably be quieter, Elysar lowered her voice, "What did the Council say then? Did Master Yoda approve? Did they all unanimously acknowledged your awesomeness and decided to make you a Master, kriff the Knighting?"

"They did," Darsha laughed, "Allow me to take the Trials, that it is."

"So when are you to take them?"

There was a slight pause. "Right...now?"

Elysar frowned in confusion, "What?"

"That's the thing," Darsha sighed and brushed a few strands of hair away from her pale face, "I was given a solo mission. If I succeed..." she trailed.

"Oh," Elysar said dumbly, "Oh, _wow_. Alright, are...are you okay with that?"

"I mean, I guess?" Darsha shrugged, "I...Yes. I think I am. I'm ready," she added with more resolve, "I have been waiting so long for this, Ely. And the Council...they entrusted me with this. I simply couldn't let them down, you know?"

Elysar nodded in understanding, trying to conceal her distress with a cocky smile, "I take it you're not allowed to discuss it? Your _grand_ solo mission"

"When I return, you'll be the first to hear about it," Darsha winked, "I promise. Alright, I've got to go, have to prepare for my departure. And _you_ go back to moulding the future of the Jedi Order, yeah?"

Elysar huffed, "Oh, kriff you, Assant."

"Kriff you harder, Moven!" The white-haired girl returned loudly as she walked away.

Elysar shook her head with a laugh and returned to her pupils, finding them in the same state she had left them. Almost. Ambrose was still manoeuvring the training lightsaber like his life depended on it, Tara had apparently decided to take a break and slump to the floor, while Krista and Benji fancied themselves at an Apprentice Duel.

Elysar let out a heavy sigh.

"What is '_kriff_', Jedi Moven?"

* * *

Elysar had always dreamed of becoming a Guardian. She paid careful attention during all the lightsaber combat lessons, didn't shy away from asking many — some would say _too_ many — questions and inevitably excelling at duels, besting her halfwitted opponents. Her skills with the 'saber became unparalleled under the tutelage of Master Windu, who had taught her all but one form of combat...

For all the good it did her.

Elysar sat slouched over a dated book in the Archives, trying to make sense of what was written. She had promised Madam Jocasta to help sort out the holobooks, but was stuck with her own studies — the Council had permitted the young Jedi to research a couple of old manuscripts to get some very much needed insight into the Force Concealment. Elysar rubbed her tired eyes and flipped the page. There was an overly complex diagram illustrating the meditation techniques that would help better understand the matter of such a practice.

As interesting as it undeniably was, her thoughts gradually strayed away from Force studies to Darsha. It had been two days and she still hadn't returned to the Temple. Perhaps it was Elysar's own rather poor experience with solo missions that made her wary, but she couldn't help but feel that something wasn't right. Each time she tried to distract herself with holobooks and conversations with Master Sanube that left her even more sleepy than she had been before, the slight tremble in the Force always brought upon a shiver of uneasiness.

When Elysar couldn't help the feeling anymore, she shut the book with a thud and all but stormed out of the Archives under Madam Jocasta's quizzical look that the young Jedi ignored with a wince. She hated disappointing the old woman but often simply couldn't help it. Elysar had been appointed as an associate librarian only a year ago, but it was obvious to everyone, especially to Madam Jocasta, that guarding holocrons and helping people with their research wasn't exactly her cup of tea.

Elysar was heading straight to Master Windu's rooms firmly determined to get some information about Darsha's mission. She could already imagine him looking at her, his face impassive but with a tinge of disappointment that was always present when it came to his former Padawan. Elysar knew it was unlikely that he would be willing to share anything with her at all, but figured that it was much better than reading dusty books under lulling snores of Master Sanube.

She was crossing the main hall when suddenly her rather aggressive travels through the wide corridors of the Temple were interrupted by a slight impediment in the face of an auburn-haired Padawan with a pair of irritatingly soulful and searching eyes. _Kriff_ those eyes.

"Elysar," Obi-Wan said, a look of surprise on his face.

She looked decidedly unimpressed, "Kenobi."

"Are you alright?"

"Why?" Elysar asked, wary.

"Darsha Assant and Master Bondaro are missing," Obi-Wan told her as if it was something she should have known. Her face turned ashen. She _knew_ something wrong. "The Council sent me to investigate —"

"I'm coming with you," the words flew out of her mouth before Elysar could even form a coherent thought.

Obi-Wan's eyes widened as he shook his head, "No, Elysar, I cannot..."

"Sure you can. Please, Obi-Wan, I _need_ to come with you."

Perhaps it was the desperation in her voice or the fact that Elysar actually called him by his name — Obi-Wan would never really know why he let out a sigh of defeat and said, "Alright."

And Elysar would never admit that she gave him a genuine smile full of gratitude and a pinch of apprehension.

* * *

The tessellated city of Coruscant was covered in a cerise blanket of sunset, skyscrapers and monads illuminated in the fading light of the day. The air traffic was spectacularly bad that evening, and Elysar couldn't help but fidget in the passenger seat of Obi-Wan's skycar.

"Can't you go faster?"

"No," was his curt reply.

Elysar rolled her eyes and leaned in the seat, arms crossed on her chest. She had never fancied flying as it was, but _slow_ flying was an elaborate form of torture, that Elysar was sure of. Thus it wasn't surprising, really, that Obi-Wan had mastered it so well.

As they descended lower, past the upper city promenade with its flickering lights, busy airwalks and holobillboards, the enchanting landscape of the great galactic capital visibly dimmed, its dazzling allure buried underneath shattered windows and shabby buildings. Elysar had never been at such a low level of the city before and was shocked to realize that it was but ten kilometres away from the Jedi Temple.

And Darsha had to come here _alone_.

When Obi-Wan had told Elysar about her friend's mission, she had felt a flicker of anger towards the Council. How could they have given such a perilous task, without a soul to accompany her? Extracting an informant from the Crimson Corridor was dangerous enough, but when that informant was from the Black Sun and possessed extremely valuable intel...He might as well have had a bull's eye on his back, what with every bounty hunter in the galaxy looking for him. And if _that_ wasn't enough, the Crimson Corridor itself was one of the most dangerous districts on Coruscant, a world of iniquity, criminals and gangs.

"You used to be a better flier," Elysar saw fit to point out after some time. Obi-Wan began his _careful_ descent.

"You used to be a more pleasant company."

She raised a skeptical brow, "Is that so?"

"Oh, yes. I do remember you being much more tolerable on that mission to — Kegan, was it? When you got bitten by a wart-hornet and couldn't speak for three days."

"Hmm, remind me, was that before or after you had a break from the Order?" Elysar reminisced innocently. She smiled, satisfied with Obi-Wan's silence.

The area was rather deserted safe for a couple of beggars who scattered away when the skycar hovered above the surface of the street before landing. Elysar thought it strange. But then again, the poor mendicants might have simply been scared — this was the territory of the Raptors, after all — an infamous street gang, who reigned over the Crimson Corridor.

Elysar climbed out of the skycar and took a look around, "It's very..._peaceful_ in here."

"There," Obi-Wan said pointing to a shadowy corner of a building. Underneath it was parked a skyhopper. _Darsha's_ skyhopper.

"Give me your glowlight."

Obi-Wan threw her a pointed look. Elysar raised a brow in challenge. He sighed and handed her the light stick, albeit rather begrudgingly. Elysar turned on the device when they came closer to the skyhopper and almost halted before it. The craft was in absolute shambles. Everything safe for the frame was gone, stolen by scavengers who had taken all the parts light enough to carry.

"The instrument panel's been sliced open," Obi-Wan said, inspecting the gash, "Looks like it was left by a vibroblade."

_Raptors._

"There's blood," Elysar's voice trembled at the sight of the dark spots splattered on the ground. She couldn't tell if it was human or not.

She noticed a flicker of movement in the shadows.

"Did you see it?"

Elysar was well aware of the dangers lurking in the Crimson Corridor, be that members of the many gangs or other vermin, both human and nonhuman, and felt her hand curling around the hilt of her lightsaber by sheer reflex.

"I felt it," Obi-Wan's voice was distant, his face slightly contorted with concentration. Elysar could sense him reaching out through the Force, searching for a presence in the dark alley. He was always in tune with the Force, unlike Elysar, who had always struggled with its finer was but one ability she was reasonably skilled at; unfortunately, the Council didn't condone Psychometry, and so Elysar had had to manage it herself. She used to spend hours in the library, reading on about the strange gift she had been born with and trying to perfect it. She had suspected that Master Windu knew of her pursuits and was glad for his mindful silence. Elysar's ability had helped them on many missions, after all.

Pity she would never use it again.

She watched Obi-Wan with fascination and quickly looked away when he opened his eyes.

"Come here," he called to someone in a calm yet authoritative manner.

A human boy emerged from the dusk of the street. He looked very young, probably about sixteen or seventeen standard years, with bright green hair styled in a high mohawk, clad in rags and leather. Elysar could feel fear oozing from him, mixed with disgust and anger. If she were to guess, she would say he was one of the gang members, although not a very bright one — only the weak-minded could be lulled by the Force.

"Where is she?" Obi-Wan asked.

"Look, I dunno what you're talking about —"

"I think you do," Elysar stepped forward, her hand resting on the lightsaber hilt hanging at her belt. She burned the green-haired boy with her dark eyes, challenging him to lie and face the consequences. Obi-Wan visibly tensed at the insinuation.

"Yeah whatever," the boy huffed, "we messed with her a little but we took the hint when she chopped off Nig's hand, y'know? I mean, she wanted the ship so bad, she could have it, right?"

"Where did she go?"

"How do I know?"

Elysar exchanged a quick look with Obi-Wan. The boy was telling the truth.

"Was there a Fondorian man with her?" Obi-Wan asked in that irritatingly composed manner of his that usually made Elysar roll her eyes.

"Oh, him?" The boy grinned, "Yeah, the guy's been chopped to pieces by hawk-bats."

Elysar frowned. If the Fondorian informant was dead, that meant Darsha had failed her mission. Why hadn't she reported to the Council? And why was her Master missing? It didn't add up...

"There were some other Jedi," the green-haired boy spoke again, "I didn't see them myself but people've been talkin'."

"What other Jedi?" Elysar asked, sounding much less composed than Obi-Wan.

"Some o' my guys saw somebody on a speeder bike chasin' another in a skycar. He caught up with 'em and there was this big brawl. The speeder blew up an' the car crashed over on Barsoom Boulevard. Big blowup. That's what I heard," the gangster shrugged.

Obi-Wan had probed the green-haired boy's mind for more information before finally releasing him from the thrall. The criminal didn't waste time in running off into the shadows, leaving the two Jedi at a complete loss.

"The Jedi in that skycar — do you think they were Darsha and Master Bondaro?" Elysar said as they were returning to the skycar through the vespertine streets.

"Very likely. We'd better inspect the crash sight before making any assumptions."

"Yes, Master," Elysar intoned sarcastically. Obi-Wan pursed his lips in silence.

She stayed mostly silent during this ride, too busy thinking over the Green Hair's words to make any remarks about Obi-Wan's piloting. She just stared at the city coated in a thick layer of darkness and enjoyed the feeling of cold air hitting her hot skin.

"What in the hell happened here?" Elysar muttered when they finally arrived at the scene.

Master Bondaro's skycar was buried under the rubble of debris which made it hard to detect any bodies. There was no disturbance in the Force that would indicate the passing of a Jedi, either. Then again, Elysar had never been particularly perceptive with these things.

"Do you feel anything?"

Obi-Wan was inspecting the crashed landing dock or rather what was left of it, "No, but it's been several hours since the crash," he concluded and took another long look at the wreckage, "The perturbation is too subtle, I'm not...skilled enough to read it yet."

Elysar sighed, "Well, at least the boy wasn't lying — there was definitely a fight here. But with whom?"

"Whoever it was, we have to assume they are still alive. We need to talk to eyewitnesses."

Elysar nodded and suddenly frowned, feeling a strange ripple come through the force. When she looked at Obi-Wan, she was sure he had sensed it as well. It was dark and unyielding, a cold tendril lurking in the shadows, a corruption. Elysar looked around nervously, but the street was calm, dangerously so. Like a sea breeze before a wild storm.

"I have a bad feeling about this," Obi-Wan murmured, voice laced with apprehension.

"You always say that," Elysar joked but couldn't help but feel that for once, he could actually be right.

* * *

"A droid was piloting the skycar," a woman swore in a highly accented voice, her eyes wide, "The other one jumped from the bike and sliced it in two."

"The other droid? There were two of them?" Elysar asked in confusion.

"No, the skycar!"

It seemed to make things even worse, "Two skycars _and_ a speeder bike? What —"

"Miss," Obi-Wan cut in with a pointed look to Elysar, "Was there anyone else besides the droid?"

"I...I don't really remember. There was a _droid_," she repeated, clearly not fluent enough in Basic to say more.

Obi-Wan thanked the woman for her cooperation and she walked away. Before disappearing in the crowd, however, she turned back to look at them a total of twelve times, as if doubting the realness of the whole experience.

"Alright, this is ridiculous," Elysar exclaimed with a sigh, "These people can't agree on anything."

After two hours of interrogating eyewitnesses to the mysterious crash — some of which talked willingly and some needed a little persuasion — Obi-Wan and Elysar had learned that a lot had been happening in the neighbourhood, especially in the past forty-eight hours. Many people had seen the chase between a speeder bike and a skycar, some claimed they were Jedi, some reported seeing a cowled figure clad in black who had also somehow wreaked havoc in a Hutt's nightclub.

"One of the witnesses said a Twi'lek male was piloting the skycar with a human female beside him. It cannot be a coincidence."

"And a black-clad figure was riding the speeder bike," Elysar continued, the gears turning in her mind.

"The same cowled figure that was involved in the fracas at Yanth the Hutt's nightclub..."

"This is it then," Elysar announced with renewed enthusiasm. Obi-Wan quirked a brow, looking rather sceptical, "We have to go there. Perhaps they'll be able to shine some light on this mysterious cloaked _droid_."

* * *

**A/N:**

Ok so the first two chapters are based on the book "Darth Maul: Shadow Hunter" by Micharl Reaves, so if you recognize something, that's probably why ;)

I hope you guys liked it as much as I liked writing Elysar roast Obi-Wan.  
Please do share your opinion/thoughts in the comments!  
'Till next time xxx


	3. two

chapter two:  
**_death, yet the force_**

**THE TUSKEN OASIS** lived up to its name, presenting a haven of lavishness amidst the criminal desert of the Crimson Corridor. The big room was adorned by a luxurious wall frieze made up of splendid statues of beasts from various galactic mythologies. The space was immersed in darkness but for photonic crystal fixtures that painted the whole club in various colors that changed in a gentle segue. Now it was a soft violet, setting an eerily intimate atmosphere that the patrons of the esteemed establishment didn't much mind. A quartet of Bith musicians were playing something lively in the corner.

Elysar could almost forget she was in the lowest levels of the city, but even the luxuriousness of the club couldn't hide its clientele. She spotted nearly a dozen armed bodyguards accompanying their gambling employers and other patrons who carried their own weapons, ready for a brawl to break out.

"It's charming in here," Elysar commented as she and Obi-Wan moved towards the bar followed by curious glances.

"Wait till you try their signature Ardees," the Padawan quipped.

Elysar let her eyes carefully wander around the room from under the cowl, taking immediate notice of a pair of Rodians sitting at the back tables, their snouts quivering with disgust at the sight of the unwelcome guests. There was no doubt they were Black Sun Enforcers, judging by the dark, leathery attires.

The species behind the bar-stand Elysar couldn't recognize. The creature had no neck but made up for it with a few extra pairs of arms. Two were busy mixing up an elaborate drink, one was typing something into the datapad, and the other two, Elysar noticed, swiftly dropped below the level of the bar as the two Jedi approached. She saw Obi-Wan's eyes register the movement. One didn't have to be a Masters to see what was hiding down there.

Obi-Wan slid back the cowl covering his face and Elysar did the same after some hesitation.

"Whar' ya wan'?" The creature croaked with something that would probably resemble a scowl on a human face.

"We're looking for some information," Obi-Wan told him.

"Don' hav'ny," the bartender grumbled.

Elysar's eyes followed a third arm sneaking down under the bar to join the other two. The tension was almost palpable at this point, and she could sense the other patrons starting to pay attention, especially the Rodians who had been most displeased to see them. The Black Sun Enforcers were now flanking them on both sides, blasters in hand. _Why weren't they attacking them?_

It was as if the club stilled. Everything happened so incredibly fast and yet almost in slow motion: Elysar noticed the bartender's four beady eyes glance at the two crystals installed in the bar's surface as an elaborate touch to its lush design. One was green and the other red, and it was glowing. Ever so slowly, the red crystal winked out.

And the green one lit up.

"Down!" Obi-Wan screamed.

Not losing a beat, Elysar dropped to the floor before the undoubtedly expensive bar-stand blew into pieces, showering the two Jedi in splinters. There was a ringing in her ears from the blast, and Elysar watched, almost in a daze, as Obi-Wan ignited his lightsaber and sliced the blaster in two.

She scurried to her feet, her energy blade coming to life with a bright magenta light. _The smell of burned flesh. Her hands clasped around the curve of the weapon. Screams, screams, screams..._ The two Rodians that had been too shy with their weapons now seemed to gain a little confidence; Obi-Wan deflected one of the blaster shots, sending the red beam flying into the ceiling.

Elysar tried to even out her breathing. Her vision became slightly blurred, but she persevered, summoning every bit of concentration she could muster. With a flick of her hand, Elysar sent one of the blasters flying out of another Rodian's hands, the weapon flying across the room.

_Do you feel it now? _The pain_?_

Her hand started shaking, eyes running around the room in search of something to keep her grounded, to keep her _here_. Elysar's lightsaber deactivated at the same time as the Rodian fired, the red beam moving swiftly in her direction. She could see the blaster shot and yet was unable to move, stuck in a stupor. It moved closer and closer...

...and was deflected by a cobalt blue energy blade. With a single gesture, the Rodian's blaster landed at Obi-Wan's feet.

The club's patrons watched the scene with wide eyes, hands reaching for their weapons, ready to defend themselves against the Jedi. However, after the immediate danger passed, their full attention returned to the gambling tables, where games of sabacc and dejarik awaited.

The buzz in Elysar's ears had abated, her breath less winded, head clearer. She put the lightsaber away and looked at Obi-Wan. His green eyes were so full of concern, she felt wretched. A flicker of anger in them, however, filled the young Jedi Knight with the familiar feeling of defiance.

Obi-Wan turned to the bartender, "Like I said- We just want some information. No trouble."

"Alright, alright, that's enough boys," someone said, "It's not often that we have Jedi over. Show some hospitality, will you? I'm sure they aren't here to cause trouble," a human male emerged from the backroom, his potent presence instantly filling the space. There was a certain way about the man, Elysar thought. He exuded power with his confident stance alone; it was almost animalistic, such a prepotency.

His eyes fell on Elysar. She felt an urge to roll hers, "Are you, friends?..."

"Kenobi, Obi-Wan Kenobi."

"Elysar Moven," she said dryly.

The stranger appeared almost shocked, but something told Elysar that very few things could take a man like him by surprise. No, the look in his eyes was fascination; as though he had found a new, exciting puzzle to solve.

"Moven? Any relation to Gregyr Moven?" his mouth was quirked into a disgustingly self-assured smirk.

"None that I acknowledge, no."

"As I mentioned to your bartender," Obi-Wan cut in, feeling Elysar tense up, "All we're looking for is information."

"What a wonderful coincidence. I'm looking for information too," the man said, "Perhaps we can help each other. My name is Dal Perhi."

He led them down a short flight of stairs and down a narrow corridor. Walking behind, Elysar noticed that the gangster had a thick braid hanging down his back.

"Sorry about the cold welcome. We're all a little on edge these days, it was a mere precaution. We had to make sure you really were Jedi. The fact that you didn't hurt any of my boys speaks for itself. The Jedi are, after all, known for valuing life," Perhi said, sarcasm dripping from each word like venom.

"As are the Black Sun, no doubt," Elysar retorted.

"You do realize that if we weren't Jedi, we would likely be dead right now?

The gangster nodded, "As I said, we're all a little on edge at the moment. You'll see why in a minute."

"Are you taking us to see Yanth the Hutt?" Elysar asked.

Perhi smiled, "There's no fooling you, Jedi."

They reached the end of the corridor and passed through a door that had a wide gap in the center, as though it had been melted through.

Sure enough, Perhi hadn't been lying about leading them to the Hutt. He had, however, omitted a very important detail.

"He's dead?"

The gangster raised his eyes from the large body splayed on the floor and looked at Elysar, "Another one of your Jedi tricks, is it?"

She ignored his sarcastic remark and stepped over a broken force pike to get closer to Yanth. There were four bodies of Gamorrean guards lying around. By the looks of it, they had all been shut with blasters.

Elysar kneeled in front of the Hutt's body next to Obi-Wan, who had already begun examining it. Her eyes widened at the wound that had killed him. The burned flash at the ridges almost looked as if...

"Is that?..." she let her words taper off.

"It can't be," Obi-Wan murmured, inspecting the gash, "A blaster burn, most likely."

"I was hoping you could shed some light on this," Perhi said, arms crossed over his chest as he walked closer, "You know, using your," he made a vague gesture. Elysar quirked a brow, "_Thing_."

She could. All she had to do was touch the body...

...and she almost did, when a voice belonging to a more rational part of her made Elysar flinch away from it. "_Don't you dare,_" the voice commenced. And Elysar abided.

She forced a smile on her face when she looked at Obi-Wan, "Do it. You need some practice for your Trials, after all."

The Padawan was too tense to reply to her snarky words, "Give me a minute," he told the gangster. Perhi nodded and stepped away, to give him some space.

Elysar didn't need Psychometry to feel the darkness in the force. The same corruption they had sensed back in the alley and at the crash site of Master Bondara's skycar. There were a lot of disturbances coming from other beings in the club, but _that one_ Elysar felt clearly. It was familiar in an eerie, terrifying way.

"I'm sorry," Obi-Wan shook his head after some time, "Perhaps if I'd been here earlier-"

"It's alright. Not your fault," Perhi said, although Elysar could feel his disappointment, "Thanks anyway."

She was still staring at the lethal wound in Yanth's body, a pensive look on her face "And no one saw who did it?" she turned to the gangster.

"You'd think there'd be at least one witness, but everyone swears they couldn't get a good a look at him. Even when he ran past them."

Or maybe they were just reluctant to talk in fear of retribution. A very common trait found in criminals.

They were walking towards the exit, when Perhi spoke again, "What you did back there in the bar - are all Jedi that good?"

Obi-Wan stopped and thought for a minute, "No, they're not," he finally replied. Elysar had to fight off an idiotic smile at the scene. She recognized the expression on his face: very tasteful and patronizing baiting. The gangster seemed relaxed by Obi-Wan's words but his expression quickly changed when the Padawan continued, "But I'm just an apprentice."

Perhi nodded very slowly.

"Jedi Moven," he called after them yet again.

Elysar sighed and turned to him, a haughty look on her face, "Yes?"

"Pleasure doing business with your family," Dal Perhi gave her a dazzling, if somewhat predatory, smile.

Elysar leveled the gangster with a highly unimpressed stare, eyes openly running over his whole body, sizing him up. Finally, she returned to his pitch-black eyes, her lips stretching into a condescending smile, "It's _Knight_ Moven."

Elysar didn't stay long enough to see his face go slightly pale. She turned and left Yath's underground office, Obi-Wan walking close behind. When they finally the made it out of the Tuscan Oasis, Elysar breathed in the fresh air. She had never felt so happy to be in the streets of the Crimson Corridor at dusk. She told Obi-Wan as much but his reaction to her words wasn't what she had expected.

"Are you going to tell me what happened in there?"

Elysar remained silent long enough for the quiet of the street to become unbearable, "Do I have to?"

Obi-Wan let out a sigh, "I shouldn't have agreed to take you with me."

"Oh, why thank you for _agreeing_, Kenobi," Elysar bristled, "What would I do without you? You are ever so gracious for _agreeing_ to humor me."

"I didn't mean — "

"So good of you to let me come on this mission and be a nuisance. How shall I ever repay you for such a kindness,_ Oafy-Wan_?"

Obi-Wan's eyes flashed in annoyance at the name he'd been called back in their days at the Academy.

"I wasn't —"

"You must feel so mighty," she baited, "After all those years, to finally be able to patronize me."

"Would you stop, Elysar?"

Oh, how she _loathed_ his sensibility. Elysar did stop, however, her dark eyes hot as burning coals.

"You could've died," Obi-Wan spoke, his voice measured, "If I..."

"I had it under control."

He met her eyes with his. The look in them pleaded not to lie, but it was all Elysar could do to stay true to what she thought she believed in.

"Come on," she finally said, her voice surprisingly steady, "We still have to investigate the block of cubicles. Maybe it will help make sense of this whole mess."

It certainly didn't. What it did do, however, is complicate everything even further. The local police investigators at the scene had told them that the tenant of the blasted cubicle had been none other that the Neimoidian deputy viceroy of the Trade Federation Hath Monchar. And that he had been _beheaded_, which, according to forensic expertise, had happened before the blast.

"Well, kriff," Elysar sighed when they left the building.

"The Black Sun has to be involved in this."

"Do you really think the Trade Federation is in bed with a criminal organization?"

"They are not happy with the Senate at the moment," Obi-Wan reasoned, "Perhaps they have found a way to avoid taxation through the cartel. Or the Black Sun has provided them with armed forces against the pirates in the Outer Rim."

After investigating the cubicle blast, Obi-Wan had suggested returning to the place where Master Bondara and Darsha Assant had been seen last. However, when they neared the crash site, the perimeter was secured by the police — apparently, there was some ongoing investigation. Elysar told Obi-Wan that they should see what had happened.

"This is the Crimson Corridor, Elysar," Obi-Wan said, "It may be completely unrelated..."

"You don't know that," she insisted.

Elysar could feel the same sense of trepidation, the familiar presence of darkness which grew stronger the closer they flew to the site. They had little trouble entering the crime scene — Jedi possessed legal powers to cross police line on any investigation that could potentially be connected to their own.

"Can we help you?"

Two plainclothes investigators — a Mrlssi and a Sullustan — made their way to them. Elysar doubted it was to greet the Jedi no one asked to intervene.

"We've been following reports of a criminal who has been operating in the area", Obi-Wan told them.

"There have been some assaults," Elysar added, gauging their reaction. By the looks of it, the investigators knew nothing about it.

"We have grounds to believe that there might be some connection here."

The two policemen exchange knowing looks, "Well, yeah, there might be. Come have a look."

A new piece of wreckage was found almost half a block away from Master Bondara's skycar. The shredded vehicle the investigators led them to used to be a police unit before it had been brutalized. There was a clean cut through the canopy where the pilot droid would have sat. A cut with burned edges.

"Was anyone killed?" Elysar asked.

The Mrlssi noded, "Two patrol officers."

"It fits the profile of someone we're looking for. We suspect they maybe have a connection to the Black Sun," Obi-Wan informed the investigators, "I will contact the Temple regarding this. You have the full cooperation of the Jedi in this matter."

They headed back to the skycar, both too conflicted by what they had learned tonight to speak. Elysar felt restless: all this time and it seemed with every clue they strayed further away from the truth — _what had happened to Master Bondara and Darsha?_

Obi-Wan flew in silence, rising higher above the lower levels. Elysar noticed that this time, he had pushed the skycar to maximum speed. Even this revelation, however, wasn't enough to rouse her spirits. There was a tension between them, one that had nothing to do with the investigation. One that Elysar decidedly ignored, fumbling with the sleeve of her cloak.

A sudden flash of orange on the horizon did well to distract them both from their musings. It appeared to be only a few blocks away, and so they both agreed to follow this last lead. A deep frown etched on his pensive face, Obi-Wan turned the skycar in the direction of the cloud of smoke and fire.

The site of the explosion was an old power plant that used to provide electricity for the nearby buildings and had been reutilized as a storage facility. After the blast, however, there was barely anything left. Although the structure of the building stayed intact, built from materials strong enough to contain an explosion in case of a potential leak, inside it was nothing but rubble; pieces of metal scattered among the burning debris.

"Do you feel that?" Elysar asked.

The tendrils of darkness were dancing in the flames, corrupting the Force. Obi-Wan seemed transfixed by the scene and gave a short nod. He then stepped forward, as if something had attracted his attention. Using the Force, the Padawan summoned a shiny object from the piles of debris.

Elysar felt what it was before the remains of Darsha's lightsaber landed in his hand. It was scorched beyond recognition, twisted and melted, but it was hers. Elysar could feel it.

She remembered how proud Darsha had been after she returned from Ilum, a shiny lightsaber in her hands. It was a yellow color — something that was quite rare, which added to the excitement of the little girl. And here it was, in Obi-Wan's hands, its light gone forever. Just like Darsha Assant herself.

"I'm sorry, Elysar," was all Obi-Wan said.

She was sorry, too.

_There is no death, there is the Force_

As soon as Obi-Wan's skycar landed in the hangar, Elysar knew she was in trouble. Although no longer a Padawan, she still felt like one when it came to Master Windu. It seemed he never stopped teaching her, which, she supposed, was a good thing, but Elysar had no use for his lessons anymore and certainly not for his admonishments.

He told her off when she spent too much time in the library because "_You should not abandon your training, young Jedi _". He chastised her for training too much because "_You should gain enough knowledge to become a Consular Master, young Jedi._" When Elysar didn't do enough, she was lazy; doing too much, apparently, made her too ambitious, and "_Ambition is a self-glorifying feeling, young Jedi. And vanity can be dangerous for someone as capable as you."_

Elysar couldn't see what was quite so vain about reading and maybe indulging in an occasional holodrama, but she would always answer "_Yes, Master_" even though she agreed with nothing he said.

Today of all days, however, she didn't think she had it in her to be penitent.

Upon their arrival at the Temple, they could both feel that something was the matter. The air was thick with tension and filled with anxious whispers, and Elysar's concern only grew when one of the Padawans told Obi-Wan that he was to report to his Master immediately. With a quick look at Elysar that said "Sorry, but you know how these things are", Obi-Wan hurried away down the corridor.

"Elysar."

It took all of her not to let out a martyred sigh, accompanied by an eye roll.

Master Windu had always had an imposing presence. There was something in the way he held himself — with silent dignity of a seasoned warrior, that earned one's immediate respect. It wasn't the kind of respect you would have for a parent figure or an idol; no, it was something that bordered on fear and admiration.

After all the years as Master Windu's Padawan, there was still a harshness to him that felt prickly. He would never let her too close, keeping a reasonable distance in their relationship, and Elysar had long learned to respect that. Even if she sometimes envied the connection Obi-Wan had with Master Jinn.

"Master," Elysar nodded in greeting.

The look he gave her was stern. Even more so than usual, "It was foolish."

"I know."

"I don't think you do. You could have died."

_I almost did._

"I know, Master," she droned instead.

"You are not ready for this yet, Elysar. There is still much work to be done," Mace Windu spoke like Obi-Wan, with so much calmness in his voice it was hard to believe he was even angry with her. Dissatisfied, perhaps. Disappointed. For Elysar, though, it was much worse.

"I understand, Master," Elysar told him with a respectful nod, "But Darsha is my friend and I owed it to her to..."

Was_ my friend,_ it suddenly hit her.

"While you think your act was one of honor, you are mistaken. It was selfishness that drove you, Elysar. And that selfishness put Padawan Kenobi in danger."

How she wanted to tell him he was wrong. How she wanted to defend herself, yell him that how can worrying about a person you love can be _selfish_...yet she said nothing.

"I do understand your motives and know they were honest, Elysar," Master Windu amended, perhaps sensing his former Padawan's defiance at his words, "Darsha Assant was one of the best Padawans we had. She possessed the integrity of a true Jedi and died an honorable death of one, as well."

"What good is honor when you're dead, Master?" Elysar murmured, feeling like a Padawan again; lost and confused, seeking their Master's guidance. Except now there was a bitterness to her words, a silent accusation.

"I feel your grief, young Jedi. Let it lead you down the path of light. Do not let it consume you."

There was a warning in his words, one that she caught perfectly. _Do not repeat your mistakes, Elysar._

Elysar did her best to let the grief guide her, but whether it was down the path of light, she wasn't yet sure. One thing she knew was that after hours of meditation, she had decided to do something she had vowed not to ever try again.

She had been sitting on the floor, legs crossed, Darsha's lightsaber in front of her. Elysar had been staring at it for hours, trying to touch it and then recoiling in panic. She had been doing in for hours before she had been hit with a sudden wave of determination

Elysar felt the thrill of belonging again, the thrill of adventure after the investigation. It had made her realize what she had been missing for years spent buried in books and training Younglings, as rewarding as it was. Working on a mission with Obi-Wan had brought many fond memories of their previous exploits across the galaxy. When they were both Padawans, both children who had seen too much and clung too tightly to the little innocence they had left. The world was a dark place, that they had learned at a very young age. But it got a little brighter if you surrounded yourself with the right people.

Elysar walked down the wide corridor to Obi-Wan's chamber but the door slid open before she could even raise her hand to knock.

Wide, green eyes regarded her in surprise, "Elysar? What — "

"I know how we can trace what happened. I...I think I can read the Sense Echo through Darsha's lightsaber, and if we go to the site of the explosion —," Obi-Wan winced, and Elysar felt her enthusiasm dissipate, "What's wrong?"

"Master Jinn and I were called on a mission," he said quietly, voice tinged with regret.

Elysar opened her mouth to say something but could only produce a faint "Oh".

"I'm sorry, Elysar. Maybe when I return..."

She knew he was, which for some reason made her angry. She felt like the biggest idiot in the entire galaxy and reached out to the only coping mechanism that seemed to help, "Well, maybe this is the mission where you finally prove yourself ready for the Trials, _Oafy-Wan_," she told him with a smile that felt unnaturally tight on her face, "May the Force be with you."

With another look at him, Elysar walked away.

Obi-Wan stared after her until Master Jin's voice came through the comm, telling the Padawan to make haste.


	4. three

chapter three:  
**_now there was _****_neither_**

**_YOUR LIGHTSABER IS YOUR LIFE._ **

Such were the words spoken to every Youngling after the Gathering. And they held the undeniable truth — Force would guide your body and mind but it was the energy blade that stood between you and your imminent demise.

Lightsabers were part of them, created from kyber crystals from the frozen caves of Ilum. A Jedi didn't choose their crystal — the crystal always chose the Jedi, guiding them through the trials like a holy beacon. In a way, a small piece of a Jedi's soul always remained inside it, long after their death.

According to the custom, a perished Jedi was to buried with their lightsaber. But with Darsha there was nobody to grieve over, no casket to bury, and since Anoon Bondara — her Master — had died as well, the Padawan's weapon had been given to the closest person she had.

Elysar stared at the remains of Darsha's lightsaber. She found herself in the same position she had spent days in: on the floor of her room, legs crossed, in a face-off with a piece of metal. She could feel it buzzing, calling for her, but try as she might, Elysar couldn't answer.

Echo Sensing always came easy to her, even _too_ easy, which could at times be a little frightening, especially for a small child. The power itself wasn't the problem — it was the control over it that presented an almost insurmountable challenge. There were very few who could teach it to her, and all of them lived in faraway systems; hermits, left to their own devices.

The power of Psychometry was rare indeed and regarded as something to fear rather than develop. The day Elysar discovered she possessed it, she was encouraged to use it mindfully or better yet, not at all. It was quite hard because half a time she couldn't even help it — as soon as she touched an object, she would get flashes of images, sounds and even smells. Sometimes it was pleasant, almost fun. Other times...things could get dark. And it _always_ left a mark. This was why ever since her last mission, one that ironically earned her the title of a Jedi Knight, Elysar had trouble connecting to the Force.

Every day for the past week, upon returning to her room after training and helping Madam Jocasta in the Archives, Elysar would sit on the floor and stare at the lightsaber. She would then meditate, but that would inevitably make her feel restless and she would open her eyes and stare at the weapon some more. It was incredibly exhausting, that mental torture, which left her in a rather sour mood.

Elysar finished her lesson on telekinesis with the Bear Clan and after the auditorium cleared out, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath, knowing what awaited her back in her room. Another unsuccessful meditation. Another couple of hours spent staring at a lifeless object. It was then that Elysar sensed a heavy presence and opened her eyes. There was a small, green creature standing in the doors of the training auditorium.

"Grand Master Yoda," Elysar greeted him a little sheepishly. She didn't expect to see him, especially not after a lesson. _Did he see it? Did he think I did a terrible job?_

"Jedi Moven," he said serenely as he walked in, his billowy robes trailing along the floor, "Mind you not that I watched the Younglings train, I hope"

"Of course not, Grand Master. I would be honored to have your wise opinion."

The old Jedi nodded and approached the wide window, turning his back to Elysar. She followed him after a minute's hesitation and stood beside, looking over the landscape of the city.

"Truly wonderful, the mind of a child is. Free of fear and worry, open to knowledge. Listen to you, they do, young Jedi. A good Master you will one day become," Yoda said after some pensive silence, "Strength to you, there is, determination. Yes, yes, indeed. But trouble in you, I sense too."

Elysar instantly tensed.

"What plagues you, hmm?"

Her face was crumpled with indecision. She didn't particularly want to share the details of her failures with the Grand Master of the Order.

"I..." she spoke in a small, hesitant voice, "Have you ever felt...detached from the Force, Master?"

Yoda gave a deep, prolonged hum in reply, thinking over her words.

"In all living things, the Force is, young Jedi. Feel them around us, we can. As long as we do, detached from it we are not."

"But I can't help but feel that after...," she sighed, feeling her eyes prickle,"...after what happened, I lost my connection to it."

"The Force never leaves us, look harder you must," Master Yoda told her reflectively and nodded to himself, "Something else there is, I recognize. Yees, doubt I sense in you."

Elysar's heart started to beat faster. She turned to the old Jedi Master and caught him looking up at her, "Let it blind you to the light, do not. Doubt is the path to fear, young Jedi. And powerful foe, fear is. Named it must be before banish it you can."

Elysar knew the name of her fear. She whispered it every night in her nightmares, heard it laughing in her tear-stained face. Felt the shock of electrical energy surge through her body sending it in spasms...

"Thank you, Master Yoda," Elysar managed to make out, "I shall go to join Madam Jocasta in the Archives now."

With a slight bow to The Grand Master, Elysar left the auditorium. Master Yoda followed her retreating figure with a long, pensive look, a deep frown on his wrinkled face.

* * *

The first time Elysar felt a Sense Echo, she was seven years old. She remembered that day perfectly: lightsaber training with Master Yoda, meditation with Master Sinube — it was a day like any other, or so she then thought. Everything changed when the Younglings were let to the refectory for a midday meal after their studies. Elysar remembered chatting with Obi-Wan a little, blushing every time she caught his eyes, remembered Garen Muln eating his favorite sweet cake and snorting with laughter at something his friend Bant Eerin had said. It felt so warm, that feeling of normalcy and belonging, so reassuring. Which was why Elysar froze in fear when a completely new sensation took over her whole body.

She remembered grabbing a juicy jogan to bite into but instead dropping it to the table, her eyes wide with fright and shock. Elysar smelled the hot air in the thick of a tropical forest, heard the rustling of leaves, tasted the sweet tang of the fruit. It was weirdly pleasant, that sensation, however disorienting it seemed at first.

Immediately after it happened, Elysar related every single detail to Master Yoda. The old Jedi gave a rumbling hum, thinking over the matter, and after some reflection told the Youngling of her innate ability. Told her of its greatness and of its danger — two notions that often came hand-in-hand.

Elysar was confused: she felt so light and vibrant, so free and warm. She told Master Yoda as much to which he replied that she should indeed take great care, for while some things brought positive feelings, there were those that could cause her serious harm.

How foolish Elysar had been not to have heeded these words. How vain. It had been this infantile arrogance that had led to her downfall, that had torn her into pieces so small, she couldn't put them together still. On that day Elysar had given a solemn vow to never, under any circumstances, use Psychometry ever again.

Which was why now she was staring at Darsha's lightsaber to do just that.

Elysar was too afraid to touch it. What would happen if she did? She didn't know if she wanted to find out. But she _needed_ to see what had happened to Darsha.

There was no time to waste.

Elysar took a deep breath and let the air out, slowly, deliberately, like they had been taught to do during meditation. She reached out her hand to the lightsaber, skin on the palm prickling with anticipation.

The metal felt cold.

One would never be able to tell it had been swallowed by fire mere days ago if not for its scorched, melted appearance. With great determination, Elysar curled her fingers around the burnt hilt. Her body was completely still but for a slight trembling in her hands.

She closed her eyes and grasped the weapon tighter, the molten chunks biting into her skin. But Elysar didn't feel any pain.

She thought of Darsha, of the first time she had met her: Assant had beaten Obi-Wan at one of the Duels when they were fourteen, and Elysar watched almost with admiration as the girl helped Kenobi to his feet and told him that he had put in a great fight. They were all supposed to say it after a duel, such were the rules, but unlike others, Elysar could feel that Darsha had truly meant it. To many, she seemed gentle and compliant but there was steel beneath the tenderness, perseverance behind her suave moves. Many underestimated her only to later learn better.

Elysar and Darsha grew close during their many missions together. They became fast friends over making fun of their Masters and sharing silly secrets about boys at night, when the ship was asleep, stifling giggles in the darkness of their bunk beds.

Where there had once been life and laughter, there was now death and silence; a dark, hollow abyss. Only a ghost of Darsha's soul lingering in her disfigured weapon. _The lightsaber is your life_. Now, there remained neither.

Elysar was overwhelmed by the feeling of emptiness, the loss of this connection...

...she felt a barely perceptible pull. There was a thin thread stretched out through the Force as though to guide her. Reaching out with some hesitation, Elysar took hold of it and...gasped. A cold wave of desperation washed over her, drowning her under its weight. Anger, regret, resolve, pain and fear...Elysar was choking on the amalgamation of all those feelings that came crashing down on her like a whirl of storm.

And then there was nothing.

The tempest abided, and Elysar could breathe again. Through the thin vale of smoke, there was light. _Resignation_. A determined acceptance of one's fate that filled Elysar with a power unlike she had ever experienced before.

_There is no passion, there is serenity._

She felt tongues of flame licking up her skin, fire biting into every part of her body, but her heart was at peace. Elysar could hear the sizzle of lightsabers clashing, one yellow and one ruby.

_There is no chaos, there is harmony._

A flash of ember eyes striking against bloodred skin covered in black tattoos —

_There is no death, there is the Force._

Elysar's eyes flew open. She dropped the lightsaber with a hiss as if it had burned her hand. And it _had_ but the fire was everywhere, on every inch of her skin.

Breathing heavily, she jumped to her feet and looked around the room. Elysar felt the need to make sure of her surroundings, to feel the solid ground beneath her feet, to feel she was _present_. And only when the waves of shock began to melt away, Elysar felt strong enough to think back to what had happened.

Darsha was fighting someone. Someone with a red lightsaber.

_It can't be._

The darkness she and Obi-Wan had felt in the Crimson Corridor, the cowled man who had killed Yanth the Hutt and potentially assassinated Hath Monchar. With a lightsaber.

A _red_ lightsaber.

Elysar needed more. More information, more evidence to prove she was not delusional. Obi-Wan was right about making assumptions — they would inevitably lead to confusion. It was facts she needed. Solid proof.

Donning a cloak on her shoulders, Elysar picked up Darsha's lightsaber and left the room. If no one was going to investigate what had happened, she would do it herself.

* * *

Elysar brought Obi-Wan's skycar to a stop on a landing platform and spent some time sitting in it, mustering the courage to come out. The once burning inferno was now but a sooted mess, the air thick with the remnants of smoke. Elysar slid back the cowl to take a better look around. It was so peaceful, only the distant sounds of traffic filling the air, the usual bustle of the busy capital.

Slowly, she eased out Darsha's lightsaber from the pocket of her robes and let out a deep, shaky breath. The object buzzed with energy as if reaching out for something in the storage room, a lingering presence. Elysar knew what was going to happen if she let it guide her. And with that knowledge, she closed her eyes and let the sense echo take over her mind, seeping through the Force.

Buzz of lightsabers, heavy breathing, sound of footsteps and dry, deranged laughter...

She opened her eyes, the cacophony too much to handle. Elysar's whole body trembled with a foreign feeling — fear? — and she tried to even out her breathing to calm down. When it seemed that the sensation had finally passed, Elysar closed her eyes again and reached out to the Force to lead her.

This time, it wasn't just sounds.

She could see through Darsha's eyes, clear as day: the storage room filled with steam from the machines, the yellow glow of the lightsaber in her hand. She was fighting with the serenity every Jedi was taught to posses, her movements gracious and calculated. There was no anger in the way she swung the 'saber, only peace and resolve, the kind one felt when they excepted their fate.

_Darsha! Open the door!_

Elysar — _Darsha_ — whipped her head to the door, eyes flickering to the hatch window. Through the transparisteel she saw the face of a young man. Elysar couldn't recognize him, but the stricken look in his blue eyes told her that Darsha had. He was locked out of the storage room, in the containment chamber, and Elysar saw him yelling something and hitting the door.

A sharp pain tore through her body when the dark man's blade pierced her side. It was only then that Elysar saw his face: variegated, with black tattoos covering the skin. His eyes were angry; so, so angry, burning with the kind of hatred Elysar had never encountered before, and he was mocking her with a malicious grin. But Darsha didn't care about the baiting, nor did she care about dying — she had managed to Force move near a dozen fuel tanks in a sizable pile and did not intend to let anyone leave the building alive. Herself included.

After that, it was pure agony. Elysar tried to pull herself away, but to no avail — she was stuck. Stuck in the excruciating pain, stuck in the endless suffering, her head filled with screams and her nose hit with the smell of burning flesh.

No, no, no it couldn't be happening again.

Elysar was shaking her head as if it would help get rid of the horrifying images, hot tears running down her reddened cheeks.

"No, please..."

And then it all stopped.

As if a switch had been turned, the fire went out, the screams swallowed by silence. Elysar felt nothing but a piercing cold ripping through every cell in her body, sending shivers down her skin. Her breath was heavy as she blinked rapidly to clear her vision from the tiny black dots that were blurring it.

_You're here. You're present_.

It took her some time to realize that the flames were long gone, leaving but a thick layer of soot on the metallic rubble that remained. It had felt _so_ real. Any longer, and she wouldn't have made it out.

"_Jedi Moven_," her comm came to life prying Elysar away from the tendrils of darkness that filled the wrecked storage facility, "_Elysar, do you hear me_?" said the voice of her Master. She should've known he would feel the disturbance.

"Yes, Master," she breathed out.

There was a long pause. "_Return to the Temple, Elysar._"

"But Master, I found something. Something that might — "

"_Jedi Moven, you will report to the Temple _immediately —"

Elysar opened her mouth to reply when she felt a slight tremble in the Force. It was weak, almost an intangible whiff...

"I'm sorry, Master," she turned off the comm. Master Windu would not be pleased, but Elysar would deal with his disappointment later. Now, she had a job to finish.

Reaching out through the Force, Elysar concentrated on the distant presence. She had a hard time tuning out the noise that was still ringing in her ears, but after a couple of tries, she managed to push it aside and clear the path to the strange sensation. It had belonged to a living thing, Elysar surmised. Whether it was still alive, she couldn't yet tell. Could it be Master Bondara? No, the presence of a Jedi was more potent than that.

The veil of the elusive feeling stretched from the burnt storage chamber to the adjacent room that looked to have been a waste-containment unit. The room where Elysar had seen the strange man locked behind the sealed door as he tried to fight his way through it. However, the sense became weaker as she stepped through the melted threshold into yet another room cluttered with scorched metal pieces. It was as if it had been cut short.

A flicker of red light shining through the rubble drew Elysar's attention.

At first, she thought it was a mere play of the light, but as she got closer, the flickering showed a steady pattern one would see in a machine. Elysar force-moved a charred conduit that was in her way and felt her breath catch in her throat.

It was a small carbo-freeze unit.

Well, at least that explained why the life-force Elysar had felt disappeared so abruptly. Carbon-freezing removed any trace of life, lowering all biological and electrical processes to the point where no one, even a Master Jedi could detect them.

_Not even a Sith Lord_.

The carbon-freezing unit had been used: there was a hollow silhouette that suggested that it had incased not one but two individuals. One of which had not been a living being at all, if the shape of their head was anything to go by.

_"A droid was piloting the skycar." _The woman _had_ been telling the truth.

So the man behind the door had made it out alive, after all, as had his droid, from the looks of it. And since there was not a trace of another's death...

_He_ was still alive, too. Out there, on the loose.

Elysar's fingers curled around the remains of Darsha's lightsaber, her jaw tight with a pernicious feeling of anger.

Padawan Assant and Master Bondara had been killed by a Sith. And she would do everything she could to find him.

* * *

The only real lead Elysar had was a nameless stranger, whose face was now imprinted in her memory. She thought about him as she walked back to the skycar and on the way back to the Temple, and the only plausible scenario she could come up with suggested that the man was a criminal. Maybe one of the Raptors whom Darsha had thralled into helping her out of the Crimson Corridor. Or, perhaps, he was the one the Sith had been hunting for. At least it was a theory. The only theory Elysar currently had.

She really didn't want to return to the Temple without any concrete evidence. Elysar resisted the idea the best she could but the truth was that she needed the Archives to get it. Or rather, a particular person who knew more about the criminal world of Coruscant than any holobook — Master Sinube.

Elysar was one of the many young Jedi who had made a mistake of underestimating him. Tera Sinube was an elderly Jedi who spent most of his days in the Archives dozing off in front of a computer when he wasn't giving occasional lessons to Younglings. Not many knew that the Cosian was a living legend — one of the best Investigators the Order had seen, having solved an uncountable amount of cases for the Coruscant Police. He had great knowledge about the criminal underworld of the city, and Elysar figured that if anyone could help her find the mysterious man, it would be him.

Master Windu was not at the Temple upon her arrival. Elysar was infinitely happy to learn that he had gone to meet with the Senator on very ambiguous Jedi matters and would be away for some time. It gave her a perfect opportunity to hopefully find out what she needed to know and continue her investigation without being cornered.

Her quick steps echoed through the spacious Archive rooms as she walked down to Master Sinube's usual spot in the back. She hurried passed the soaring shelves stored with glowing holobooks, their light buzzing sound filling the cold air of the hall.

"Oh, Jedi Moven."

Elysar stopped in her tracks at the croaky, yet gentle voice of Madam Jocasta Nu. The elder woman appeared before her, arms hidden in the billowy sleeves of her robes. There was a calmness in her clear blue eyes as she regarded the young Jedi.

"Madam Jocasta," Elysar said somewhat hesitantly.

"Is something the matter dear?"

"No," she instantly replied, "Why?"

"I was expecting you in the Library today, but you didn't show up," Master Nu explained, her voice showing none of the accusation held in her words.

"Oh, I was asked to investigate something. Padawan Kenobi and his Master had gone away to Naboo before he could solve a case, and so he asked me to look into some leads while he is otherwise...occupied." The lie came surprisingly quickly. Perhaps, because it held some truth.

"I see," Madam Jocasta nodded, a twinkle in her eye, "Is there anything I can help you with, dear?"

"Actually, I was hoping Master Sinube could help me find someone."

"Do you know their name?"

"I know next to nothing about them," Elysar sighed as they walked to the stations in the back, "I only have a face."

"Well," Madam Jocasta gave her an encouraging smile, "I'm sure Master Sinube will help you put a name to it. Good luck, Jedi Moven. I hope you'll find whatever you're looking for," her words held a much deeper meaning, Elysar felt.

As soon as Madam Jocasta left her to her own devices, Elysar proceeded to Master Sinube's station. It presented no great challenge to spot the wizened Master — one should have only followed the snoring.

"Master Sinube?" Elysar called tentatively, "Master Sin —"

The Cosian shook awake, his wide yellow eyes dazed from sleep.

"Who — What —" he looked at Elysar, still slightly disoriented, "Ah, Jedi Moven, very nice to see you. I was meditating."

A corner of Elysar's lips lifted in amusement, "Of course, Master. I was wondering if you could help me with something?"

"Help you, hmm? Good it is, being able to ask for help," Master Sinube reflected, his manner perfectly unhurried. Elysar sighed, "Your uncle never did. A good Jedi he was; great even, but too vain for his own good. You're not like him, are you, Jedi Moven?"

Elysar never really knew her uncle. She had caught glimpses of him in the Temple when she was a Youngling, but the idea of him being her relative seemed almost surreal. He exuded greatness and poise when he strode down the bright, wide halls of the Palace in his shiny dark robes, his greying hair a striking silver against them. He had acknowledged her only once, but the memory of this encounter would stay with Elysar for a long time, the color of her lightsaber a constant reminder. It was her uncle who had gifted her a rare kyber crystal of incredible beauty, bearing a bright magenta color.

The last thing Elysar heard of him was that he had abandoned the Order for an unknown reason and had adopted the title of Count after the death of her uncle Ramil.

It appeared that her silence was a sufficient answer for Master Sinube. "What do you need help with, Jedi Moven?" he asked.

"Padawan Kenobi has been investigating the deaths of Darsha Assant and Master Bondara. I believe I have found a lead — a person who could be connected to them. Only, I don't know who he is," Elysar explained.

"Hmm, I see. And what _do_ you know of him?"

"Only his appearance. I think he might be a criminal, one of the Raptors, perhaps. Is there any way to check the databank for him?"

"There is always a way, Jedi Moven," Master Sinube opened the database on his computer, "Was he a human?"

"Yes, a human male, abound twenty-eight standard years," she watched him type down the information, narrowing down the search results. A good number of suspects appeared on the screen, but neither fit the stranger's profile. Master Sinube opened another page, but still, her suspect was nowhere to be found.

"Do you recognize him?"

Elysar shook her head, "No, he's not here."

So, the man wasn't a criminal. At least, in the general sense. If the Sith had been after him, however, it meant that he had done something to upset him. Or was in possession of something that the dark creature wanted for himself. Could it have something to do with Darsha's Fondorian informant?

"Master Sinube," Elysar said pensively, "is there a database for intel dealers?"

"I have been researching the criminal underworld of Coruscant for decades, young Jedi. If your suspect made a single misstep, it is in there."

Master Sinube made some alterations to the previously entered parameters and the computer screen lit up with a myriad of new faces. Elysar's eyes jumped from profile to profile, burning through holopictures in hopes of finding some resemblance. But even when someone looked like the man from the storage facility, it was the eyes that gave them away. Elysar remembered the soulful look in them, the desperation and sadness. It was hard to miss. Which is why she nearly toppled over Master Sinube, yelling "Stop!" when she spotted the same blue eyes again.

"It's him," Elysar said.

_Lorn Pavan, human male, 27 standard years._

"Ah, the Force does work in mysterious ways," Master Sinube intoned.

Elysar looked at him with confusion, "What do you mean? Do you know this man?"

The Master gave a slow nod, "I do, young Jedi. And I'm afraid we are responsible for the path young Lorn has taken."

"Responsible how?" Elysar asked with a frown.

Master Sinube took his time looking for a proper answer. He gave a rumbling hum, "Lorn Pavan used to work here at the Temple as a clerk. He had a force-sensitive son whom we have taken to train, only...by taking in the boy as a Youngling, the father had to be let go."

_There shall be no attachment_.

"It is sad to see that his life has taken such an unfortunate turn," the old Jedi mused.

Elysar always trusted in the Jedi code. Believed wholeheartedly in the Jedi ideals. Her resolve never wavered even in the face of a life void of love and family. She had her lightsaber and her missions, which left no place for distractions. Such thoughts were akin to drops of poison that seeped through your skin slowly, lethally, until you drowned in them.

You wouldn't need more if you didn't let yourself _dream_ of more, Elysar thought.

And until recently, she had been content with it.

* * *

Elysar didn't possess Master Sinube's knowledge of Coruscant's underbelly, but she did know someone, or rather _of_ someone, who did. And if the Master's data was strictly archival, Dex Jettster was in the midst of all criminal activity, what with his welcoming diner serving as a hub for every delinquent in the area. They trusted him to be discreet — Dex didn't stick his nose in their business as long as they ordered food and didn't trash the diner.

But Elysar knew that the Besalisk had a soft spot for one Obi-Wan Kenobi. It was a peculiar friendship, to be certain, and she didn't know how it had come to blossom, but Dex had offered an occasional piece of information that proved valuable for Kenobi's missions. Which was why Elysar was now standing in the middle of the rowdy diner, looking rather lost.

She startled when a waitress droid skated up to her, "Whatcha doin' standin' there darlin'? Come sit down, I'll be right with ya in a minute."

"Hey, can I speak with Dex?" Elysar asked, her brow quirked in question.

"Honey!" The droid yelled, "Someone's here to see ya! A Jedi, by the looks of her."

Elysar knew that Besalisks were a heavy lot, but seeing one in real life made her do a quick double-take. Dex Jettster looked quite imposing, standing almost seven feet tall with a look on his face that was not exactly welcoming. Elysar watched with apprehension as he exited the kitchen after preparing another order and trudged to her.

"What's your business here, girly?" he asked gruffly, wiping a pair of his hands with a cloth.

"Obi-Wan told me you could help out with an investigation," she was becoming quite good at lying.

The Besalisk's face instantly softened at the mention of the Padawan, "Obi-Wan?" he exclaimed jovially, "Come sit down then, Miss Jedi." Dex guided her to a free table and managed to fit himself into one of the sits, albeit with some difficulty. "I haven't seen the bastard in a while. How's he doing?"

Elysar sighed, "Wish I knew, really. He's away on a mission at the moment, which is why he sent me to inquire about something. If that's alright with you?"

Dex coughed out a laugh, "Yeah, that's alright with me. Hey, Wanda! A cup of ardees for our guest!" He yelled out and then bragged to Elysar, "It's freshly brewed."

She gave him a tight smile.

"So what can I do for you Jedi, huh?"

The waitress arrived with the Jawa Juice and placed the cup in front of Elysar.

"Thank you," she looked up at the droid and then back at Dex, "I'm looking for a man, Lorn Pavan?"

Elysar didn't know what she expected but it was certainly not a hearty guffaw, "'Fraid you're not gonna find him, girly."

"Why is that?" she took a sip from the cup, looking at Dex over the rim.

"The boy's got himself into one hell of a hustle, went way over his head. Doubt he'd show his face in the Core systems any time soon. I'd say he's already halfway to the Outer Rim."

"What did he do?"

"The boy kriffed Yanth the Hutt over a holocron for a million credits before the sod got killed. "

"A _million_ credits? What kind of information is worth this much?"

Dex huffed, "Mighty valuable, I'd wager. The kind he would kill a Neimoidian to steal. That's what they say, at least."

Elysar felt her whole body shiver, "Hath Mochar?" she asked carefully.

"Can't tell you which one of those pricks from the Trade Federation it was," Dex shrugged, "All I know is that a cubicle exploded; 'twas a whole mess with the authorities."

Elysar couldn't believe she finally had all the pieces to put together. She left the diner in a ponderous daze, trying to draw up a semblance of chronology in her head, to understand what exactly had happened.

Hath Monchar had been killed days before the Invasion of Naboo when Obi-Wan and Master Jinn had been sent on a mission to the Trade Federation's space station. But why was he on Coruscant in the first place? It was strange in itself, for the Neimoidian masters of the Trade Federation were rarely seen on Coruscant, given their strained relationship with the Senate.

His death seemed to be exactly what had catalyzed the events to follow. If Elysar were to believe Dex's version, which she didn't really, Lorn Pavan had killed Hath Monchar and had stolen the holocron with valuable information on it. But Elysar knew that he wouldn't have done it. Something in her vision had told her that Darsha trusted this man, and Elysar doubted that she would've put her confidence in a killer.

Another thing to consider was the Sith Lord and the trail of darkness he had left in his wake. She had felt it in the wreckage of the cubicle and in the Black Sun's club, and at the blown up storage facility. What if it was the holocron that he had been after the whole time?

It made perfect sense.

He had killed Hath Monchar, but had been too late — somehow, Lorn Pavan had already nicked the holocron from the cubicle (the part Elysar was yet to figure out) and had contacted Yanth the Hutt to make the exchange. At some point, the Sith must have learned about Pavan's plans, which had put an instant bull's eye on the smuggler's back. The dark creature had followed Lorn to the Tusken Oasis and had murdered the Hutt, but Pavan had escaped yet again. At some point after that, he had crossed paths with Darsha and Master Bondara, sealing their fates.

The Sith had been after the holocron, there was no doubt about it, eliminating anyone who had somehow discovered its contents. What kind of information was incased within it?

But most importantly, who would go to such length to make sure it wouldn't see the light of day?

One thing was clear: Elysar needed to speak with the Council.

_Immediately_.


	5. four

chapter four:

_**to family**_

The last time Elysar stood before the Council had been two years ago, following the mission that had earned her the title of a Knight. She remembered feeling incredibly small surrounded by twelve Masters — the wisest men in the entire galaxy — especially after everything she had been through. They had called her actions brave, valiant even, but Elysar knew, in her heart, that she had been nothing but a quivering coward.

Now, she stood in the center of the circular room, head held high as she met the eyes of the Council members. They were whispering between themselves, no doubt shocked by everything they had just heard — Elysar had told them all about the stolen holocron, Lorn Pavan and the mysterious man who she suspected had killed Master Bondara and was responsible for Darsha's death.

"I have reasons to suspect that…" she let out a shaky breath and looked at Master Windu, "…it was a Sith Lord."

Master Yoda gave a long hum in reply, his brows instantly furrowing; Mace Windu, however, looked neither shocked nor disturbed — no, he was positively furious, his stony face becoming even harder to read.

"What reasons are those, Jedi Moven?" asked Master Mundi.

"The Force it was…tainted, _corrupted_. Both Padawan Kenobi and I sensed this dark presence at every crime scene, like a mark," Elysar licked her chapped lips in a nervous habit, "And…he wielded a lightsaber. A _red_ lightsaber."

"You saw it through the Echo hmm?"

Elysar's eyes flickered to Master Windu before she gave a hesitant nod. The chamber fell into a pensive silence.

"How can that be?" wondered an Iktotchi Master Tiin, his golden eyes troubled, "The Sith have been extinct for a millennium."

It was when Master Windu finally spoke up that Elysar felt a burning sting of betrayal, "I do not believe the Sith could have returned without us knowing," he told Master Yoda.

Elysar's face heated up with humiliation. She didn't think he would so ruthlessly proclaim her a liar in front of the whole Council. Not after the last time.

But, perhaps, it was just the way things stood now, and there was little she could do about it.

"Ah, hard to see the dark side is."

"Jedi Moven," Master Windu turned his dark eyes to his former Padawan. She met them head-on, "You went against my command, stole a vehicle and used Psychometry without supervision."

"I deny none of these accusations," Elysar addressed the Council, "I regret the way I had to go about it, I do. But I will not apologize for seeking the truth."

"Hmm a lot to think about you gave us, Jedi Moven," Master Yoda nodded thoughtfully, "Your words are true, sense it I do, but break the rules you did still."

This was a completely new feeling for her. In all her years of training, Elysar had never been a rebel, had never made one misstep. She had, however, always thought what it would feel like: liberating, exciting, thrilling? No, she only now realized. It was none of those things.

All she felt was shame from being berated like a senseless Youngling.

"The Council will decide what is to be done about your insubordination," Master Windu said. Elysar's eyes prickled with tears. She quickly blinked them away. "As for the Sith Lord, we will use all our resources to unravel this mystery. We will find the man who killed Master Bondara and Padawan Assant."

Hands locked together, Elysar bowed before the Masters and left the Council Chamber. She didn't lift her eyes from the intricate ornament on the floor.

* * *

She was exhausted. Every muscle in her body screamed with pain begging for rest, but there was none to be had — Elysar swung the lightsaber with more intensity and jumped from one metal block to another. They were placed all around the training room, some soaring towards the high ceiling, some floating in the air on various levels. Elysar leaped higher, higher, _higher_ — until she made a final jump accompanied by a flip. She knew her landing wasn't perfect — Master Windu's pointed silence only proved those suspicions.

"Your moves are sloppy, hurried," he told her, eyes hard and calculative, "You're thinking too much about the execution instead of letting the Force guide your movement. In a fight, there is no time to think — your body has to do that work for you. Try again."

"Yes, Master," Elysar's voice was steady despite the heavy breathing. She pushed her braid away from her face and made the jump again, face burning red with exertion and unwavering determination.

Elysar would do it again and again, as many times as it took to perfect the movement. She would run herself into the ground if it meant she'd hear a semblance of praise from her Master. Even the littlest of nods; _something_. Elysar pushed through her fatigue, cold sweat trickling down her skin. Her face felt hot, her leg muscles on the verge of giving out as she maid another jump…and didn't stick the landing.

"Again," Master Windu commanded.

She wanted to scream, it felt so —

_Cold?_

The bright lights of the Temple's training room went out. Elysar found herself surrounded by blinding darkness that was permeating the thick, damp air. She was in a cave. The hard, wet stone cold and unforgiving.

"Hello?" Elysar called out into the nothingness.

"So much wasted potential," a male voice said.

She whirled towards the source but couldn't tell where the sound was coming from — it was a deep, distant echo. But the voice was vaguely familiar, almost as if…

"Master?"

"Again!" A flash of blue light cut thought the thick of darkness, and a wild, burning scream ripped through Elysar's throat. "Again!"

The electricity surged through every nerve in her body, and she fell to the freezing ground shaking from the impact. "M-Master, why…" she managed to croak out, but just as the spasms abided, another current of lightning sent her slight frame quaking. Elysar could no longer tell if it were her screams that filled the abysmal cave; could no longer feel the tears streaming down her cheeks. Could no longer…

"M-Master, p-please," she begged, "please, stop!"

"Again!"

The scream was deafening. The lightning hit her with a force such powerful, all Elysar could see was the blinding light. Was she dead? No, no, she was still breathing but —

— where there had once been darkness and an all-consuming cold, was now a pool of golden light and a gentle caress of warmth on her skin. Elysar moved and felt something grainy and prickly beneath her — upon blinking her eyes open, she was met with a wide ocean of sand.

Disoriented, she attempted to rise and winced — the sand was scorching hot against the skin of her palm. Squinting from the bright light, Elysar looked around to find nothing but leagues and leagues of an unforgiving desert, two suns burning on the horizon.

_Tatooine?_

"Are you lost?" a tiny voice wondered.

Elysar turned around and stilled at the sight of a young boy. He was looking up at her with big, blue eyes that shone brightly from the shadows of his blonde fringe. His skin was tanned, something one would expect from a dweller of a desert planet, clothes baggy and worn out, perhaps, by the life of hard labour. Elysar knew that slavery was a disgustingly profitable business on Tatooine.

"Hello," she said in a hesitant voice.

"What are you doing here?"

"I…I'm not quite sure," Elysar tried to muster a welcoming smile, "Are you alone?"

The boy looked unsure for a moment but then gave a slight nod, "Yeah, I think I need help. Will _you_ help me?"

"Help you?"

Without saying another word, he turned and started walking away, trudging through the thick layers of sand. Puzzled at first, Elysar went after him, shielding her face from the growing whirls of wind, "Wait!"

But the blonde boy kept walking forward, unbothered by the impending storm. The harsh currents of air, mixed with grains of sand, made it almost impossible for Elysar to move ahead — it was like the windstorm had a tight grip on her, drawing her back every time she tried to push through it.

"Where are you going?"

The boy stopped, his tiny frame barely visible through the vale of sand.

"There's a sandstorm coming, lady. You'd better find a place to stay," he told her and then disappeared into the storm.

Elysar tried to follow him, but the wind was too strong and she was too weak to fight its vice-like embrace. And so she let it envelop her completely. Through the distant wails of the wind, she could hear soul-wrenching screams of unimaginable agony and deep, heavy breathing…

Elysar woke up with a start, her scream filling the quiet of the dusky room. She blinked the sleepiness away and examined her surroundings. It took some time for her eyes to get used to the darkness. When they finally did, Elysar could make out an outline of a table and a workbench, littered with papers and books. The familiarity of her modest domicile did well to calm Elysar's rapidly beating heart.

She couldn't close her eyes for the rest of the night, though, lying on the stiff sleep couch and staring blankly at the ceiling above.

* * *

The Temple was a sacred sanctuary of the Jedi; a beacon of light in the vast galaxy that guided them home from long travels and perilous missions. Elysar always felt at peace within its walls — the sense of belonging to something so grand and ancient filled her with warmth and tranquility. With purpose.

But there was one place in particular, hidden beneath all the levels of the Temple, at its very base, that she cherished like no other.

The Room of a Thousand Fountains was a place of prosperity, quiet and reflection, radiating with the Force. It surged through every plant, every drop of crystal clear water, and brought a feeling of peace to one's soul. Many came here to train or meditate among the gardens filled wild greenery and exotic plants from all around the galaxy. This seven-story construction was a true oasis, a beautiful rose fighting its way through the unyielding rock of the Temple grounds. It was designed like a true forest, with muddy trails, bushy trees, cascading waterfalls and rivers all under a clear blue sky — a perfect illusion created by lighting banks on the ceiling.

None of it, however, was bringing Elysar any peace. She jumped from the bridge that separated one of the running streams and landed on a lower catwalk, a bright magenta weapon gripped tightly in her right hand. She was practicing her least favorite form of combat — Ataru — that required a high level of velocity and acrobatic prowess. Elysar found it too exhausting and gave her preference to Djem-So, a form that was equally — if not more — effective and required impeccable concentration and skill with much less jumping around involved.

She'd been feeling uneasy all morning. Elysar had tried meditating but as soon as her thoughts strayed, the face of the young boy from the dream would appear, asking for help and then disappearing in the wild sandstorm. Who had he been? Why had he come to her? Elysar hadn't had such vivid dreams for over a year and had no doubt that the use of Psychometry had triggered them again.

Unable to find an answer to any of those questions, she had decided to take the edge off with some lightsaber training — the session from her dream had inspired Elysar to practice the fourth form of combat, which she had always loathed, even as an overly ambitious Padawan.

Elysar leaped from the highest catwalk and ran along the ridged wall. Her eyes were trained on the liana hanging from one of the trees ahead as she pushed herself off the surface and force summoned the plant. Gripping onto it mid-jump, Elysar swung forward and did a Jedi flip in the air before landing on the ground.

Her breath rugged, Elysar turned off the lightsaber and looked at Mace Windu, who had been standing in the shade of an Assari tree for some time now, watching her train. Elysar had sensed him as soon as the Master stepped into the greenhouse, which was probably why she had decided to put more effort into her training than usual.

"Your flip was adequate," Master Windu commented approaching his former student, "But you should've made the jump earlier. You haven't been training enough."

Elysar pushed the dark strands of hair away from her sweaty face and nodded, "Yes, Master."

She would be lying if she said that she hadn't been hurt by Master Windu's lack of trust in her. Elysar had thought, had _hoped_ that he would support her at the Council meeting, but he had shown her no such courtesy. She had expected him to be angry, sure — but mistrustful?

_Again! Again! Again!_

Elysar flinched from the memory — a slight movement that didn't escape Windu's sharp attention.

"Do you know why I never taught you Vaapad, Elysar?"

Vaapad was Master's Windu's interpretation of the seventh and most ferocious combat style — Juyo. In its original form, it was as deadly as it was malicious, and any who dared learn it was said to be treading a perilous path that could lead to the Dark Side.

"No, Master. You never told me."

"Vaapad acts on empathy. It means that in a fight, we channel the anger of our opponent, make it our own and use it against them. It's a loop that allows us to act as a conduit for the darkness and steer clear of it," Master Windu explained, "I feared that your powers of Psychometry would make the damage permanent — preserve the darkness instead letting it pass. And you were an ambitious pupil, Elysar, I could see it in your eyes — you enjoyed the fight, reveled in combat. It was a risk I couldn't take."

It was strange to hear the truth after years of wondering, and Elysar didn't quite know what to feel. She supposed Master Windu's fears held some truth — fighting always brought her a strange pleasure, winning over an opponent infused her with inexplicable joy. Even as a Youngling she had been awfully competitive, vying for the attention of her teachers and seeking their constant praise. Elysar knew she was more than worthy of it — she worked harder than anyone in her clan, training day and night while the rest were meditating. Her dueling skills were unparalleled if a little ruthless, which Master Jinn had commented on once when Elysar had beaten Obi-Wan with his excessively jumpy Ataru style. She was always starving for knowledge and validation, which made Master Windu's refusal to teach her the seventh and last combat style a true disappointment.

"You did what you thought was right, Master," Elysar assured him. However, there was still a shadow of childish bitterness to her words.

Master Windu gave her a stern look, "I did. And I will do it again if I have to. The Council haven't decided on your punishment yet, but there will be consequences, Elysar."

"I understand, Master," Elysar replied, feeling like a chastised Padawan again, "Have you…have you looked into the matter yet?" she asked tentatively.

"We're still looking for a trace. So far, there have been no reports of the man you speak of."

The _man_. Not the _Sith lord_.

"You do believe me, don't you?" Windu's silence spoke clearer than any confirmation. Elysar's face instantly fell, "Of course you don't," she murmured.

"You were wrong before, Elysar. Now, when your senses are clouded…"

"I wasn't wrong!" she yelled. Master Windu's face hardened at her flaring temper, "I wasn't wrong, Master," Elysar added, this time more composed, "She might not have been a Sith, but she was on her way to becoming one. When there's a student, there's a master — isn't it what Master Yoda said? Perhaps, it's all connected."

"We _will_ investigate further, Elysar. But you should not dwell on the past lest you stay blind to the future," Master Windu said, his words not a bit of friendly advice but an order, "Now return to your training. There's still some work to be done on your coordination."

And he left her alone in silence, only the sound of waterfalls filling the chilling quiet of the gardens.

* * *

Elysar returned to her domicile feeling worn out. Usually, she welcomed this feeling after a training session — it meant she had pushed herself and achieved something. But right now, standing underneath the hot stream of the fresher, Elysar didn't feel particularly accomplished — there was only emptiness. Emptiness and disappointment.

She put on a set of clean robes of beige and braided her long dark hair, twisting the braid until it set in a perfect crown upon her head, which she then secured with a thick, metallic bead. Her eyes fell on the book laying on the workbench — Elysar'd nicked it from the Archive to do some research on the Jedi-Sith war.

No one believed her — she was used to it. And would prove them wrong.

_Ping._

Her datapad came alive with a new notification. Confused, Elysar took the device in her hands and frowned — it was a holomessage from an unknown source. She instantly played it.

A hologram of a young man appeared from the datapad, his face vaguely familiar. He appeared distraught, checking his surroundings before finally speaking, "Jedi Moven, I am Adan Dooku, legitimate heir to the Countship of Serenno. Jenza of Serenno was my aunt, and I have reasons to believe I am to share her fate," there was some disturbance in the background, and Adan got closer to the comm, his voice hushed, "There isn't much time, and I do so gravely require your assistance. You're the only one I can trust. Meet me tonight in the Outlander," the message ended. Elysar was left staring at the blue screen of the datapad, unable to make sense of what she had just seen.

* * *

She couldn't explain why she was now standing at the entrance of the night club. Master Windu would've told her that it was an incredibly unwise thing to do — it could've easily been a trap, for all she knew. But Elysar'd had enough of his lectures for the day, and was quite capable of making such a decision on her own. Yes, perhaps she could be rash from time to time and yes, she was competitive. But she was also a competent Jedi, and could stand up for herself in six different ways, even though she had, apparently, been too unstable to learn the seventh.

Elysar entered the rowdy establishment and was quickly swallowed by the dancing crowd. She was now regretting her decision to don a more civilian attire — had she been wearing Jedi robes, there wouldn't be a need to shoulder her way to the ring-shaped bar that stood in the very heart of the club. Elysar figured it would be easier to spot Adan Dooku from there — it was a great focal point from which she could scan the dancing floor and the private tables. Where the hell was he?

"Can I get you anything, doll?

At first, Elysar wasn't sure who the tattooed bartender was talking to. But then he kept staring at her, seductively playing with a ring in his lip.

"A shot of Tihaar, please," Elysar spared him a glance before continuing her search. There was a particularly loud group of gamblers gathered around the live transmission of a podrace, playing a game of subacc in the meantime.

"Sure you can handle it?" the bartender quipped cockily. He poured the crystal clear liquid into a glass and slid it to her. Elysar downed the spirit drink without blinking an eye and put the glass back on the bar stand. She met the man's surprised eyes with bored indifference.

That was when she sensed a familiar presence. It felt different from the vibrations coming off other patrons, as if somehow more potent, more inviting. Elysar threw some credits to the bartender and followed the thread through the dance floor and up the stairs that led to a more secluded part of the club on the second level. There, the blaring music was but a distant din allowing for more civil conversations that didn't include screaming.

She spotted a young man sitting at a faraway table, eyes wandering over the perfect view of the busy Outlander. Elysar noticed the nervous tapping of his right foot, the way he took a small sip of his very bright and, by the looks of it, very spirited drink, in an attempt to busy himself with something. Only when she slowly approached the table did the boy look up, eyes wide.

"H-hello," he mumbled awkwardly.

Elysar unceremoniously slid into the opposite seat, "I'm going to be honest, I have no idea why I came here," she said bluntly, "So you'd better explain yourself. And _The Outlander_? Seriously? Taking a stroll around a surface park might have been more discreet than this."

He winced, "Sorry. It's the only place I know. I-I'm not…very well acquainted with the lower levels of the city."

Yes, Elysar could tell that by his clothes and an unmistakably refined manner of speech that only politicians and members of the noble families possessed. The boy was around her age, Elysar realized, maybe slightly younger, and if she'd had doubts about his identity before, they were now put to rest — Adan Dooku had the same dark wavy hair and a set of almond-shaped brown eyes that mirrored her own.

"So, cousin, huh," he said after some awkward silence with a nervous little laugh.

Elysar was not overly inclined to chit-chat, "What are you doing here?" she asked, "Why aren't you on Alderaan?"

Last Elysar heard, Adan and his mother Kostanza were still living on Alderaan where they had fled ten years ago after uncle Dooku had overthrown his brother Ramel and become the Count of Serenno. Elysar knew that because almost three years ago she had been accompanying her aunt, Jenza of Serenno, to join them.

"I had to leave," Adan's appearance lost the boyish awkwardness. Instead, his eyes seemed steely, jaw tight with apprehension, "After Jenza died, I…I found something."

Elysar's heart tightened at the mention of the woman.

"Or rather, Senator Organa's men found it. It was a protocol droid. They salvaged him from the wreckage and brought him in."

She remembered the snarky 3PO model droid from Windrunner, the private airship of the Dooku family. He had rarely left Jenza's side, from what Elysar could remember.

"He was severely damaged, but we managed to retrieve a message from his recording unit."

"What did it say?"

"It was from Jenza," Adan said. Elysar was looking at him, unblinking, her mind filled with images of a fierce woman with the hair like her own and shining emerald eyes.

"She told me to flee Alderaan and go into hiding because _he_ would come for me."

Elysar frowned in confusion, "Who was she talking about?"

"Look," Adan leaned in and lowered his voice, "Jenza was really close with Dooku. You know him, right? He was a Jedi, like you." Elysar gave a nod, "She…helped Dooku depose my father and went on to stay by his side. We'd been estranged for a long time, due to, well, the _obvious_ differences. Until she contacted me two years ago," encouraged by the curious look on Elysar's face, Adan continued, "Jenza told me that Dooku was delusional and that the nobles of Serenno were conspiring against him. She said that she would see to his demise, but…"

"…But she died," Elysar finished for him, her voice coated in bitter dejection. _And I couldn't save her_.

"He did it," Adan's eyes lit up with anger, "Dooku, he killed her."

Elysar knew it wasn't true — she had been there herself. Had seen Jenza's lifeless body fall to the cold ground of the starship. Heard the cackling laughter…

"Adan, it's…it wasn't him. It was somebody else —"

"Yes, someone _he_ sent. Of course, he wouldn't do his own dirty work," Adan huffed.

"You don't understand, this person was — "

"A woman with a lightsaber," Elysar stilled when he said it. Adan proceeded to take off a glove from his hand revealing a shiny metal prosthetic. She looked up at him in shock, "She took a little souvenir."

"How are you still alive?"

"Barely," Adan put the glove back on, "I managed to escape when she got distracted by the guards. Bail Organa gave me a ship to leave the planet immediately, and here I am," he spread his arms in theatrical triumph, "Short of a hand, in the city of countless opportunities. _Oh_, should we go gambling? Your Jedi tricks will surely come in _handy _— see what I did there? Hey, we could make a fortune like that! I could certainly use the credits."

Elysar wasn't moved by any of it. "So what you're saying is that Dooku wants you dead?"

"Why would he want me alive?" Adan took a sip from his glass, "As long as I breath, he's a usurper. People don't like him, nobility despises him, everyone considers him a rabid radical who will bring Serenno to ruin. Elysar — can I call you Elysar? — Jenza obviously had some serious dirt on him. If we find what it is, we can bring it to the Chancellor and — "

"I don't see how I can help you with this, Adan," Elysar told him, "Serenno is not under the Republic's jurisdiction anymore, not since it's become part of the Confederacy; the Jedi have no authority there."

"If we take down Dooku, there will _be_ no Confederacy."

Elysar considered it. If what Adan was saying was true, if it had really been Dooku who had Jenza killed, it meant that the woman whose vile name was burning Elysar's tongue like poison, who wielded a lightsaber with the ferociousness and anger unlike she had ever seen before…could be his apprentice.

But Dooku wasn't a Sith Lord, he couldn't be. Could he?

"And how do you intend to find whatever information Jenza possessed?"

Adan opened his mouth to answer but then thought better and closed it, "See, I haven't really thought that through yet."

"Is it on a holocron?"

"Don't know."

"A droid?"

He winced, "Couldn't say."

"What _do_ you know about it?"

"I do know it _exists_," his voice held too much excitement for something of such little substance. Elysar quirked a brow and leveled him with a deadly glare, "Look, Jenza was very pragmatic. She never left a thing to chance, — she would definitely have it stored somewhere. The last time you saw her…did she have a datapad on her? A comm, perhaps?

Elysar thought back to their last moments on the ship before all hell had broken loose, "Not that I remember."

Adan gave a slow nod, deep in thought. Then his eyes light up, "Your mother."

Elysar almost choked, "My…my _mother_?"

"Yes, Aunt Laetitia. Perhaps, she knows something."

"I can't possibly talk to her. I don't know her. I've never even _met_ her."

"Oh," Adan let out a despondent sigh.

"I suppose you can't pay her a visit either."

"But there _has_ to be a way."

_Yes_, Elysar thought, a plan forming in her mind, _there probably is_. She had broken a dozen rules by coming here, probably a dozen more by meeting a member of her family and she was about to break some more, "Give me your comm."

"Why?"

"Just give it to me," Elysar snapped. Adan handed her the device with a childish scowl, "I was meaning to ask: how did you know how to contact me?"

"Oh, _that_. Yeah, Jenza gave me your access code number. It was…one of the things she mentioned in her message."

"She told you to find me?" Elysar asked in bewilderment.

Adan shrugged, "I guess that's what she intended."

She entered her comm number into his device and gave it back, "You now have access to my private frequency. Use it wisely — reach out only in case of an emergency, understood?"

Adan nodded.

"Alright. I have to go now." Elysar rose from her seat but then stopped and looked at him, "Where are you staying?"

"_The Stellar_ hotel?" Adan said carefully.

Elysar stared at him with an intensity that made Adan painfully aware of his own stupidity, "Find a more discreet location. Once you've settled in, try not to leave your room and _don't_ tell anyone your real name," it seemed obvious but Elysar felt that she needed to point that out just in case, "I'll contact you in a few days."

"Hey, where are you going?" Adan all but whined.

"Back to the Temple." Elysar said like this is the most obvious thing in the entire galaxy.

"To do what?"

Elysar was about to reply but found that she had nothing to say. It suddenly hit her that she truly had no idea what to do when she got back. "Come on, a couple of drinks. On me. The last time I've been here was after I graduated from the Academy. Now _those_ were the golden times," he said dreamily.

Elysar was trying to find a reason to return to the Temple where every corridor, every column, every passing Jedi reminded her of the things she had lost. She really was. But when she looked at Adan, she got a glimpse of all the things she could have had and thought that, perhaps, it was not too late.

And so she sat down.

Adan stayed true to his word and ordered them a round of drinks from a pretty fair-haired waitress who swooned from his flirtatious smile. The girl kept them coming for hours, while Adan chatted away about his life on Alderaan and his fussy mother, who was positively obsessed with finding him a nice girl to marry.

"This was all she talked about before I still had the right hand. I suppose now my eligibility as a bachelor has withered significantly," he joked, and Elysar couldn't believe the laughter that fell from her lips.

She, in return, shared some stories from when she was a Youngling. Adan looked almost comically fascinated by the tales of different Jedi clans and the Initiate Trials they had to take before becoming Padawans. Even so, one could've been left without a Master, in which case a Youngling was sent to the Service Crops.

"So, a question," Adan drawled, "Are you really not allowed to have any…relations?" He wiggled his brows to fully communicate the meaning of the word.

Elysar downed another shot before replying, "There are no strict rules about, but it is not encouraged, no. Many just don't do it for the fear of forming an attachment. Now _that_ is prohibited. "

"Aren't you attached to your Masters?"

"That's different."

"How so?"

"Connection between a Master and their Padawan if forged in the Force; it's sacred and therefore, cannot be corrupted."

Adan blew out a breath, "Well, that's a tough way to live. Didn't you ever want more? Leave the Order behind, start a life of your own?"

"I wouldn't know what to do," Elysar laughed and took a swig from her glass.

"There's a whole galaxy before you, a bloody load of things you've never done, experiences you've never had, planets you've never been to. I'm sure you'd find _something_."

She had thought about it once. When her dreams had crumbled right before her eyes, leaving nothing but emptiness in their wake. No one would've blamed her for it — Elysar'd had no purpose anymore, no path, so she could easily seek it elsewhere. But the unknown was too frightening, and the warmth of the Order too comforting.

"I don't know If I'd want that," Elysar reflected, "I'm a stranger to my family, a mere speck of dust in the galaxy. But there is a place where I belong, people, who know me and care for me, even if…they have a hard time showing it sometimes. I may have lost a family once, but I gained one along the way," she nodded to herself, the words just now sinking in, "I wouldn't want to leave it behind."

Adan gave a cordial, sympathetic smile, eyes glistening. For a second, Elysar thought it might be tears. "To family," he raised his glass in a toast.

"To family."


	6. five

**_are you a Jedi?_**

_When Master Windu told her the news, Elysar felt ecstatic. She had been dreaming about a solo mission for ages and was over the moon with excitement that, unfortunately, had to be curbed in front of her rigid Master. Instead of squealing and jumping, which was what she actually felt like doing, Elysar responded with a smile so wide it made Master Windu shake his head. _

_Being given a solo mission meant trust — trust in her abilities, trust in her integrity, trust in herself. It was everything Elysar had been working for, the sweet culmination of her wild ambitions — a chance to prove to the Council and her Master that she was ready to take the Trials._

_The thrill of the mission, however, dwindled considerably when Elysar learned of its nature or rather, whom it involved. _

_Jenza of Serenno, sister to the great Count Dooku, infamous socialite, her _aunt_. _

_Elysar had never really thought about her family. Sure, as a Youngling she would wonder where she'd come from but as she grew older, there was no time to dwell on make-belief — Elysar had much important matters to concentrate on. And moreover, she already had a family. She didn't need another one. _

_Yet back then family had been just a distant idea, an occasional thought to be brushed away. Jenza of Serenno, however, was real and she was waiting for her in the hangar of the Temple, and Elysar would have to spend days in the company of the woman whose blood was the same as hers. _

_"You are to escort Lady Dooku to Alderaan," Master Windu told her as they walked the corridors to the destination._

_Elysar felt a pang of irritation. She had been anticipating an adventurous endeavor, and this…well, this sounded decidedly boring. _

_"Since when do Jedi act as companions?" _

_"Mind your tongue, Elysar," Windu admonished, "There has been an attempt on her life. The Chancellor himself requested that Lady Dooku be escorted by a Jedi."_

_She grumbled something in reply and stayed silent the rest of the way. They were approaching the busy sunlit hangarm and Elysar couldn't but notice a grand airship that occupied the better part of the extensive area. A dozen of guards clad in foreign uniform were gathered before it, scanning the perimeter._

_Elysar halted at the threshold, "Master." _

_Mace Windu seemed mildly vexed by her stalling, "Yes, Elysar?"_

_"I wonder…is it wise? For me to come on this mission. She probably knows who I am and…"_

_"She does know who you are," he said, "She asked for you specifically."_

* * *

Elysar had been thinking a lot about her family ever since meeting with Adan Dooku. She didn't know much about them and never really tried to learn more — there were just scrapes of information she'd managed to collect over the years. Most of it was about her father.

Everyone knew Gregyr Moven. Everyone adored Gregyr Moven. And why wouldn't they? His face was plastered across every holobillboard, graced every holocaster in the galaxy — HoloNet loved to invite him over as a guest for their morning shows. Gregyr Moven — a famous philanthropist, head of one of the most profitable companies of the Techno Clan, a Corusanti Senator — he certainly didn't lack charisma, which made him a great politician. And a great liar.

Elysar had seen his name mentioned in plenty of criminal reports to understand what kind of man was hiding behind Gregyr Moven's intricately crafted media persona. A man whose prosperous company supplied various criminal organizations with weaponry, who helped transport illegal materials from the Outer Rim planets, who funded wars and made millions of credits off of people's misery.

Elysar remembered seeing an article about him: it praised his efforts to end the conflict on Ontotho and went on to list all of his accomplishments. But it wasn't the contents of the article that drew her attention, but the picture that accompanied it — it was one of Gregyr with his lovely wife Maretta. It was the first time Elysar saw her mother. She stared at the woman's face for what felt like hours, taking in her brown eyes and luscious chestnut hair. Maretta had a smile on her face, arm affectionately wrapped around her husband. Elysar wondered if she looked like them. Would they recognize her if she appeared on their doorstep? Would her mother smile like that if she saw her?

**Senator Gregyr Moven speaks out against Chancellor Kaj "_If we fail Naboo, we fail the entire Galaxy_". **

Elysar scoffed at the pompous quote and scrolled down the HoloNet website. It was an irritatingly peaceful day in the Archives — it seemed everyone in the Temple had something important to do, and only she had the free time to sit at one of the computers and check the news. How absolutely miserable.

_"Elysar?"_

For a moment she thought she had completely lost her mind and only then realized that the voice was coming from her commlink. Taking a careful look around the deserted library, she answered, "Are you on the brink of imminent death, Adan?" Elysar whisper-yelled, closing the tabs on the computer.

"_It depends on one's perspective. My _soul_ is slowly dying in this horrendous place, does that count?_"

A smile tugged at her lips, "You've settled then?"

"_We have, yes. Although, I have to stay: assassination at the Stellar Hotel doesn't sound so bad right now. At least the sheets would be clean. And room service, of course._"

Elysar stayed silent for a moment. Then she asked, trying to sound collected, "We?"

"_Oh, yes. Myself and I-3._"

"I-3?"

"_Jenza's droid. I-3PO._"

"What — you brought it with you? _Here_?"

"_Well, it's not exactly in a remarkable working condition; stress on 'working', as in, "not at all"," _Adan said matter-of-factly,_ "Speaking of, I was hoping to have it repaired —_"

"You can't do that," Elysar told him, "The lower levels technicians will most likely beat you up before stealing the parts, and the shops on the upper levels will ask too many questions. Just…" she sighed, "Stay put, alright? I'll try to think of something."

"_Any progress with our dear uncle? Have you —_ "

"Hello, Elysar. I was wondering if you could help me?"

It was a wonder the comm didn't fall out of her hands from a start. Elysar quickly cut the transmission short and whirled to the source of the voice, schooling her features into an expression of complete serenity. But then her eyes widened, "Cere! It's wonderful to see you. When did you get back?"

"Yesterday," the woman answered with a faint smile. She was no doubt tired from all the journeying across the galaxy, "Master Cordova is with Madam Jocasta, discussing some of his findings from the temple on Ontotho. We are set to leave again in the evening."

Adventures of Cere Junda and her Master Eno Cordova always fascinated Elysar. She loved hearing stories of unraveled mysteries and ancient civilizations, of strange creatures lurking in the depths of abandoned temples and sacred scripts hidden behind riddled doors. The tales Cere told her bordered on fiction, and Elysar drank them in like a pilgrim dying of thirst.

"Ohh, where to this time?" she asked, eyes glimmering with anticipation of another story.

Cere found Elysar's excitement amusing, saying that, perhaps, she should've taken her place by Master Cordova's side instead, "Zeffo. Master Cordova wants to settle there for some time to learn more about the culture and the people. Force knows what we'll find on that forsaken planet."

"I've read about a grand Temple there built by ancient Zeffo Sages. Perhaps you'll find something _mysterious_," Elysar said with a tinge of drama.

"Or just another dusty scripture," Cere huffed out a laugh, "Master Cordova hopes to understand why the Force — Life Wind, as they call it — is so strong with the entire planet."

"Well, _I'm_ hoping to hear another great story upon your return. Now, how can I help you?"

"I need some holobooks on Life Wind and Zeffonian Sages."

"Sure, we have plenty of those." Elysar left her cosy station, "Follow me."

She might not have been the best associate librarian but she did know her way around the holobooks, having read a great many of them out of sheer boredom if anything else.

"By the way, what do you think about that boy?

"What boy?" Elysar asked distractedly as she was searching for the right aisle.

"The one Master Jinn brought to the Temple."

She looked at Cere with infinite confusion, "What are you talking about?"

"You haven't heard? Master Jinn and Kenobi saved a boy from some planet. Apparently, he's incredibly Force-sensitive. The Council is test —"

"They're back from the mission?"

"It would seem so," Cere replied, slightly puzzled by Elysar's sudden change of mood," What…"

"Sorry, Cere, but I have to go. The holobooks on Zeffo Sages and Life Wind are in the twelfth aisle, ask one of the droids to get it for you!" she yelled back, already sprinting down the long hall of the Archives toward the exit.

* * *

Elysar Moven and Obi-Wan Kenobi had a long history. Of friendship or rivalry, that was unclear — if you asked them, chances are, the answers would be quite different. For Elysar Moven saw a rival in everyone, herself included: there was no limit to perfection, and so she had to be better than she'd been the day before. Elysar viewed everything as a competition where she needed to come out the sole winner — it simply couldn't be any other way.

Obi-Wan Kenobi was her primary opponent. He never failed to give Elysar a run for her credits, with his impeccable composure, witty sense of humor and the ability to counter her oftentimes infantile jabs. But what made Obi-Wan even more dangerous was the simple, yet undeniable (however hard Elysar tried to ignore it) fact that he made her _feel_.

Nothing else could trigger her quite like Kenobi's careful roguishness, nothing made her heart flutter like his laughing green eyes, nothing in the entire galaxy irritated her like his patronizing commentary. Most of all, though, Elysar despised him for the one reason — nothing, not even his disgustingly righteous sensibilities could make Elysar Moven despise Obi-Wan Kenobi. Nothing at all.

It took her a while to climb up the High Council spear, and by the time Elysar finally got there, her breath was bated and her cheeks pink with exertion. She spotted Obi-Wan almost instantly — together with his Master, outside of the Council room, patiently awaiting their verdict. As if sensing her eyes on him, Obi-Wan turned around, his face a mixture of confusion and surprise. He said something to Master Jinn, and the notorious Jedi looked up at Elysar before giving a nod.

"Elysar," was what Obi-Wan said as he approached her.

"Kenobi."

A strange silence settled over them.

"I didn't know you were back," Elysar ventured.

"Yes, we have returned this afternoon."

"I assume everything went well?"

Obi-Wan considered his answer, recollecting the events of the past couple of weeks, "We _did_ manage to rescue Queen Amidala, but the ship got hit in a crossfire. We had to make an emergency landing on Tatooine to have it repaired."

"Well, that sounds…adventurous," said Elysar with a coy smile.

"Yes, _adventurous_," Obi-Wan huffed in mild annoyance, "We even brought back a memorable souvenir."

She gave him a sly look, "Do you mean the boy?

"You know about him?"

"It's hardly a secret," Elysar said, "I heard a group of young Padawans talking about it on my way here."

Judging by the frown on Obi-Wan's face and the very palpable annoyance that radiated from him in waves, he wasn't particularly excited about such a development.

"He's in there then?" she jerked her head to the grand doors of the Council chamber.

Obi-Wan nodded, grim, "Yes, Master Jinn wanted the Council to test him."

"He must be quite special," Elysar mused.

"He is. The boy is extremely force-sensitive." Her brows flew up in fascination. "I checked it myself. It was rather extraordinary, really. His midi-chlorian count was off the charts, higher than Master Yoda's, even."

"And that bothers you?"

Obi-Wan let out a martyred sigh, his face conflicted. And tanned, Elysar noticed; probably from the unforgiving suns of Tatooine, "The boy is too old. I told Master Jinn that bringing him in is a great risk…"

"I remember you yourself were almost three," Elysar pointed out. But Obi-Wan successfully ignored the jab.

"He's _nine_."

Her eyes widened in surprise. The Jedi rarely ever trained someone so old — Younglings were usually brought into the Temple at a very young age, cared after by the nursing droids until they could begin their lessons. Obi-Wan himself had been an exception, having started his training at four years old. But nine? It was unheard of.

"Well, I would trust Master Jinn's judgement. He wasn't wrong before, was he?" she sent Obi-Wan a knowing smile that almost melted the frown off his face.

He nodded, still nursing a deep sense of worry, "How have you been doing, Elysar?"

The change of subject came as a slight surprise to her. Elysar thought back to everything that had happened in the past weeks: Darsha's lightsaber, the visions, the nightmares that had been terrorizing her relentlessly, the little boy lost in the sandstorm…

"Yeah, I've been fine," Elysar said, her tone deceptively cheerful.

A beat.

"Have you really?" Obi-Wan spoke again, his green eyes twinkling in the dim lights of the hall.

Elysar bristled, "What is that supposed to mean?"

"What I mean," he intoned with a wry smile, "is that you might have had a little adventure of your own while I was away."

She quirked her brow at such an ambiguous statement, "Is that so? And how would you know it if I had?"

"Master Yoda might've mentioned it."

Elysar pursed her lips, "Well, didn't peg _him_ for a gossip."

"I'm saying this because…the creature that killed Darsha," Obi-Wan's voice dropped, eyes looking at her with burning intent, "You were right. It was a Sith."

Elysar's first reaction was to scream _"Of course I was right!"_ for every Jedi and all the Gods to hear but as the common sense finally made an appearance, she felt compelled to stay silent. Elysar simply stared at Obi-Wan, face blank and mouth open, fully prepared to say something. Only she wasn't quite sure what.

"And you know that because?" her voice tapered off.

"Because it attacked us on Tatooine."

"_Attacked you?_ What — "

"We suspect it was after Queen Amidala," Obi-Wan said, "There is much more to the blockade of Naboo than we initially thought."

Elysar remembered the darkness that oozed from that creature, its sharp teeth and the ruthless, murderous determination. Darsha had given her life to destroy it — a sacrifice that appeared to be in vain. Elysar had suspected that the Sith had made it out of the storage facility, yet had harbored hope that he'd perished in the fire. But he roamed free while Darsha would never breath again. _Laughing ember eyes stark against variegated skin of fire and blood __—_

"Tell me everything."

* * *

The sky was bathed in dazzling colors, hovering above Coruscant akin to a blanket, weaved from the velvet cerise of the sunset and the twinkling lights of the busy galactic capital. This view never ceased to amaze Elysar, who as a Youngling and later as a Padawan, would sneak into one of the hangars to watch the splendid scenery before going to sleep. It reassured her, knowing that there was such beauty in the galaxy still, to outshine the looming darkness. Until there was beauty to be found, all was not lost.

A reflective smile appeared on Elysar's face as she stood on the balcony, leaning against the railing, and watched the urban panorama in front of her.

"So Master Jinn truly believes the boy is the Chosen One?"

"He does," Obi-Wan nodded.

"Wait. If Master Jinn ends up taking the boy as his Padawan learner," Elysar turned to Obi-Wan who was standing at her right, "That means?…"

"Yes," he replied rather bashfully, "I would be taking the Trials.

He had told Elysar everything about their journey: from the hidden underwater Gungan city to the podraces on the desert planet of Tatooine, where they'd met the boy named Anakin. He was an incredibly apt flyer, Obi-Wan had said. Still, Elysar couldn't quite believe that a child of nine could win a podrace.

"It's great news, Kenobi. You deserve it," she told him and found that she was, in fact, being sincere.

"Well, I haven't passed them just yet."

"Oh, come on now," Elysar drawled, "You know full well you're going to ace them, you conceited oaf."

Obi-Wan laughed, the sound deep and rumbling. She felt something twist in her stomach, a sweet pull that made Elysar avert her eyes.

"But really, Elysar," his voice was soft as velvet, coated in honest concern. Elysar wasn't sure she could face him just yet, "How have you been?"

"Better," she replied, "I feel like…it's time to do something, you know?" she found Obi-Wan gazing at her in contemplation, "As though I've been carbon-freezed, waiting for things to change and yet doing nothing to set the change into motion."

"Because you used your powers for the first time since the accident?"

"I don't know. Perhaps? Or because I was given a purpose. A chance for redemption, I suppose."

Obi-Wan knew the meaning behind Elysar's words, the pain. She had let her aunt's assassin get away — the elusive, nameless presence that haunted Elysar to this day. But the creature from the Crimson Corridor, the _Sith_ that had killed Darsha, was not a shadow; no, he was real. And now that Obi-Wan had told her who he worked for, Elysar knew exactly where to find him.

"Have you seen him, on Tatooine?"

Obi-Wan shook his head, "No. Master Jinn fought him alone while we were aboard the ship on his command."

"I saw him." Elysar stated bluntly, staring into the distance.

He turned to her, a frown of concern on his face, "You felt him in the Force Echo?"

"I did. And Obi-Wan," Elysar's eyes bore a haunted look when she drew them back to the man beside her, "The remnants of darkness we sensed in the Crimson Corridor are nothing compared to the undiluted anger that the creature radiated in my vision," she told him, the Sith's unforgiving glare burning in her mind, "I think he was a Night Brother, from Dathomir. He had those eyes…" .

_Like the Nightsister I failed to kill three years ago. _

"Obi-Wan," she said to draw his attention after a moment's silence, "I need to come with you. To Naboo."

Elysar had expected him to tell her how irresponsible it was and how very dangerous, expected him to talk her out of it. Yet Obi-Wan stayed completely silent, his forest-green eyes studying her face. Elysar almost blushed under such an intense scrutiny.

"Are you sure?" he finally asked.

Elysar's voice was steely with resolution as she replied, "Yes."

* * *

Mace Windu was a legend. Hailed as an exceptional swordsman, he was an epitome of a perfect Jedi: collected, pious and wholeheartedly devoted to the Order. He was the youngest Jedi to have received a seat on the High Council, a revered Master and a prominent scholar. He was also very hard to seek out — Elysar had been looking for him around the Temple for ages.

Many Younglings sought apprenticeship with Master Windu, trying to impress him by all means imaginable, sometimes even throwing impromptu duels on the training grounds to draw his attention. But Mace Windu was known for being very scrupulous — very few could pique his interest.

Elysar Moven had been one of them. He'd been watching her for quite a long time before making the decision to take the little girl as his apprentice. Master Windu had seen raw potential in Elysar's lightsaber skills, recognized her thirst for improvement whenever she fell and rose up without a single beat, her face a picture of burning resilience. The girl could be brash at times — a fact that hadn't escape Windu's attention — overly ambitious and aggressive, too. But those were the faults of adolescence, he'd told himself, of which she would very soon grow out.

Almost twelve years later, Mace Windu couldn't say he'd been right.

"So, Master," Elysar drawled as she approached him in the main hall. She would admit nor show how long it had taken her to find him, "I assume the Council has made a decision?"

Windu graced his former Padawan with his signature look of boredom and exasperation, "Should I wonder how you learned of this?"

"Obi-Wan," Elysar simply answered and then added, much less audibly, "among another people. So you've tested the boy — Anakin, was it?"

Master Windu gave a stern nod, "We have."

She raised her brows, urging him to continue. Which he did, a short pause and an unimpressed glare later, "The Council decided to postpone the decision until the conflict on Naboo has been resolved."

There was little that escaped her attention when it came to Mace Windu. In the years as his Padawan, Elysar had learned to read him — well, whatever emotion he felt inclined to show — with great success. Which is why she could easily tell that even though the Council hadn't given their verdict, Master Windu had settled on his.

"Master Jinn believes he is the Chosen One," said Elysar, eyes searching. "Do you think that's true?"

"The Force is strong with the boy but his mind is too scarred by the memories of his former life," Windu told her, "His future is unstable."

"But the prophecy…"

"Prophecies promise greatness, Elysar, and greatness is a two-sided coin: you flip it and can never predict which side it lands on — this is not the kind of risk we can take."

Elysar gave a slow nod, pondering his words. "Master Jinn is going to train him still." It was not a question. Windu sighed — a sound that spoke of resignation, "No doubt that he will." Qui-Gon was known for not quite operating by the Order's rules, after all. It was one of the many reasons Elysar held a strong admiration for him — he always did what was right even if it went against the orders, consequences be kriffed.

"I suppose I should apologize for doubting you." Master Windu's words caught Elysar by surprise. She eyed him curiously, a pinch of suspicion and mirth in her eyes. Master Jinn must've told the Council about his encounter with the Sith on Tatooine. Only his words, it seemed, had more credibility than her visions.

"I understand why you would. I have't exactly been…myself lately." Mace Windu acknowledged her words with a silent nod. It was to indicate that their conversation had come to a close, yet Elysar didn't budge, eyeing her former Master with hesitation. "Master?" She uttered tentatively. Windu raised a brow in attention, "You know how all these years I thought that my connection to the Force was irreparably damaged. It felt like…like a broken holo-transmitter: one minute I'd be in the clear and the next there'd be a hollow silence; those….barely perceptible ripples of energy." Elysar worried her bottom lip, searching for the words to continue. Windu watched her with something akin to interest, which was quite thrilling because he rarely ever seemed like he gave a care. "But then I touched Darsha's lightsaber and — and —"

"— she felt no fear, before her death. She was serene, determined, one withe the Force. And…for a moment," Elysar looked up at him, "I felt fearless, too. And then, there was no more silence — I sensed the Force within myself, _surrounding_ me. It made me realize that it was never truly gone but smothered under the weight of my fear of failure, fear of darkness, of helplessness…" _And powerful foe, fear is. _"I am done being afraid," Elysar said, "I need to face this fear and vanquish it. For good."

Mace Windu didn't speak for some time, his face pensive rather than surprised like she had expected after such a heartfelt monologue. Elysar thought she spotted a ghost of smile on his otherwise pursed lips. "I suppose now you're going to tell me you're joining Qui-Gonn and Padawan Kenobi's mission?"

Elysar tried to hold back a smile, "With your permission, Master."

"You're not my apprentice anymore, Elysar. You do not need it."

"Still," she insisted, almost teasingly, "I'd like to have it."

"You may go, Elysar."

Now, Elysar could barely hide her elation, "And Master?" Windu gave her an impatient look, "I don't think I'm fit to be a researcher."

"Yes, I have surmised that. Madam Jocasta seems to share this sentiment," he told her wryly, "Now go. And please, do be careful, Elysar."

"I will. I promise."

_ Named it must be before banish it you can. _

* * *

Stood in the threshold of the main hangar, Elysar watched the shuttle being prepared for departure. Obi-Wan must've boarded it already for he wasn't in sight. She could, however, see Master Jinn's tall figure talking to one of the engineers while a group of technicians was making some last-minute arrangements.

The last time Elysar boarded a ship had been three years ago. The memories rushing through her mind, and it took some effort to push the haunting thoughts aside and move forward. With every step she took in the direction of the shuttle, Elysar felt her composure give tiny cracks. She took a deep breath. Let it out. _Again_.

Too preoccupied with keeping her sanity intact, Elysar only realized she was at the boarding ramp when Master Jinn approached her. "Elysar," his smile was warm and welcoming, "We're glad to have you back."

"I'm glad to _be_ back, Master Jinn."

"You didn't take to the life of academia?"

"I think I'd rather wield the Force than study it," Elysar replied. It seemed that Qui-Gon was pleased with her answer.

"How very diplomatic of you," he said with a smile and looked back at the ship, "We'd better board before they leave without us."

Elysar followed Master Jinn up the extended ramp which closed promptly as soon as they were aboard the shuttle. Obi-Wan was in the cockpit, engaged in a discussion with the pilot. He gave the final directions and approached them. "Elysar," he nodded in her direction. It didn't seemed he was at all surprised to see her, "I take it you're coming with us?"

"Thought I'd offer some assistance since you're too incompetent to be of any help," Elysar returned with an air of nonchalance.

"Oh, be assured, it is greatly appreciated."

She smiled at the familiar banter and noticed Qui-Gon's eyes crinkle in amusement before they darted behind her.

"Anakin," he called.

Elysar turned around and her smile slowly melted off her face. Standing there was a little boy. A little boy with sandy hair, tanned skin and searching blue eyes that had disappeared in the sandstorm every night in her dreams. _Will you help me?_

"Anakin, this is Elysar Moven. She's going to accompany us to Naboo."

The boy looked up at her with a familiar roguish twinkle in his soulful eyes, "Are you a Jedi, too?"


	7. six

chapter six:

**the right people**

_**THE SHIP WAS** not just big. No, the training grounds in the Temple were big, the trees in the jungles of Kashyyyk were big — this starship was _enormous_. Elysar hadn't been on many yachts, in the sense that she hadn't even seen one in person, but was pretty sure that the flying vessel she was currently aboard of was exactly that. It took Elysar more than an hour to inspect the two levels with every luxurious chamber, every gambling lounge and the greenhouse filled with most beautiful plants — Lady Dooku's yacht was glimmering with striking opulence, the kind of which Elysar had never seen before._

_She talked with the crew, checked the perimeter for all potential exit routes and hiding places in case of an emergency and discussed the evacuation procedure with the captain of Lady Jenza's guard._

_Elysar told herself that she was doing all of this out of duty. In truth, however, she was very diligently avoiding the auburn-haired woman with watchful emerald eyes that seemed to follow her everywhere. There was something in them that Elysar couldn't quite decipher: amusement? Curiosity? Whatever it was, it made her extremely uncomfortable._

_When every crook and corner of the grand traveling yacht had been thoroughly inspected, Elysar had no choice but to return to the resting lounge — the abode of Lady Jenza. Walking in there was akin to entering a rock-lion's lair where the cunning creature was waiting for its simple pray, its handmaidens lined up along the wall in the flowing dresses of blue — the color of the cloudless sky._

_"Do sit down, child." Her voice dripped like sweet honey; there was a raspy quality to it._

_If Elysar was allowed to roll her eyes, she would have. Instead, she took a begrudging seat on an incredibly soft leather sofa. It was decidedly more comfortable than the hardy sleep couches in the dormitories of the Temple._

_"The ship is clear, my lady," she reported dutifully._

_Jenza's red lips stretched into a lazy smile, "My worries are all put to rest. Thank you." It took a lot of Elysar not to bristle at the sarcasm._

_She said nothing and continued to say nothing, all under the woman's stare — Elysar felt stiff with awkwardness, trying her hardest to look anywhere but at Jenza. The handmaidens seemed to be doing the same. Their lady, however, was in a keen mood for talking._

_"You have your mother's looks," she said, studying Elysar's delicate profile, "It is quite uncanny."_

_Elysar shuffled uncomfortably in her seat. The only tell of her discomfort was a pointed indifference to this conversation._

_"And your father's moods," Jenza noted with a feline smile. It was as if she knew just how to play on Elysar's strings — like a well-rehearsed sonata, only slightly out of tune._

_Elysar made to rise from her seat, "I'll go inquire with the pilot about our whereabouts, lady Jenza — "_

_"No need. He will let us know when it's time," said Jenza and gestured for one of her handmaidens to bring her a glass of green champagne, "And one for Jedi Moven, Kalista."_

_The girl went to fill another flute when Elysar stopped her. "No, thank you."_

_Lady Jenza regarded her with laughing eyes, taking a sip of the sweet spirit. She didn't talk for some time, but the silence was somehow worse than what she had tried to fill it with — thick with careful contemplation as if the woman was waiting for another opportunity to make a witty observation._

_"You're yet a pupil, are you not?"_

_"I am a Padawan," Elysar replied somewhat primly._

_Jenza sighed and brought the glass back to her scarlet lips, "Same thing," she said before making another sip, "And when does it end; your apprenticeship?"_

_Elysar considered leaving the question unanswered. But she suddenly felt awfully defensive, "When my Master deems it so."_

_"And then you become a proper Jedi?"_

_She loosed a haughty sigh, "I must take the Trials before the Council grants me Knighthood."_

_Jenza hummed, "I see. How very fascinating," her emerald eyes glimmered, "And that's what you want?"_

_"Of course," Elysar replied with a fervor that made Lady Jenza raise her eyebrows in either surprise or condescending mockery._

_"You Jedi are so idealistic," she said airily, "There's only black and white for you — no room for doubt. I hope you understand, Elysar, that life is not quite this simple."_

_Elysar's jaw tightened as she said, her voice cold, "It is for me."_

_"You mean to tell me you've never felt conflicted? Never felt suffocated by the restrictions of your code?" Noticing the Padawan's puzzlement, Jenza explained, "Don't look quite so shocked. I know a great deal about the Order. My brother does love to complain about it."_

_"This code, lady Jenza, is what's kept the galaxy safe for hundreds of years."_

_The woman considered Elysar's words, playing with the stem of the flute in her hand and watching the green liquid splash in the crystal glass. "Things that do not bend, Jedi Moven, eventually snap," her gleaming eyes were back on Elysar; omniscient, probing. The Padawan felt flustered from the burning frustration she had to keep in check. Master Windu'd told her to curb her anger and be respectful, so she had to abide by this command._

_"And have you had a lover?" Jenza persisted._

_Elysar's eyes widened in horror. "Lady Jenza," she stuttered, face flushed with humiliation,"I am here on a diplomatic mission —"_

_Jenza smiled in delight, "Oh, you _have_."_

_"No, of course not, I have not — " Elysar realized, with absolute dread, that her betrayer of a mind had conjured up Obi-Wan's lopsided grin, " I have not, I would never —"_

_"But you thought about it," said Lady Jenza with a knowing look in her velvety eyes, "It's alright, Elysar, your secret is safe with me. What are aunts for, after all, if not for gossiping?"_

_No one had ever addressed her with such a familiarity. Yes, her relationship with Master Windu was warm enough, but he always made sure to draw a certain line between them, and Elysar always kept her distance from others. The only person she was really close with was Darsha and, despite her constantly denying it, Obi-Wan._

_There was a reason for that, Elysar told herself — it kept her head straight and her mind clear of unnecessary worries._

_With little preamble, Elysar left the comforting embrace of the soft couch, "I'll check with the pilot now, Lady Jenza," she said and stormed out of the lounge area, face aflame from humiliation._

* * *

Aboard Queen Amidala's starship, Elysar watched Anakin Skywalker.

He was an incredibly easygoing child. The boy spent his time chatting with the crew members, who were happy to answer any questions he had about the royal yacht, helping out in the cockpit _—_ the Naboo pilot Rie Olié seemed positively endeared by the boy's interest in the workings of the console.

There was nothing strange nor alarming about him, no sense of dark foreboding that crashed over Elysar whenever he came to her in her dreams. Were they visions? She knew that Jedi could often see into the past and the future; if so, what could such a vision signify? Elysar'd meant to tell Master Yoda or Windu about these dreams, but had quickly discarded the idea _— _they hadn't believed her before, why would they do such a thing now? And so she simply watched little Anakin, trying to make sense of the riddled visions herself.

Some of the Queen's handmaidens were talking in the corner, their flowing dresses the color of sunset which helped bring some light into the dullness of the ship's interior. The feeling of premonition in the air was almost tangible, and Elysar could tell that everyone was on edge _— _there was no telling how this journey would end. Queen Amidala had locked herself in her rooms, and who could really blame her? Elysar couldn't fathom how someone so young could carry such an impossible responsibility on their frail shoulders.

"How are you feeling, Elysar?" She didn't need to see the person to know whom the kind voice belonged to. Master Jinn took a seat next to her.

"Hopeful, I think."

He huffed out a laugh, "Yes, hope is indeed something we could use right now. I've been meaning to tell you, Elysar" she turned to look at Master Jinn, "What you did, the way you used your power? It was very brave. No matter what the Council says, you should be proud of yourself. I'm sure Padawan Assant would've been as well."

_Expect no validation, no praise for your valor, for it is your duty, my young apprentice_, were the words Master Windu had imparted on Elysar when she was thirteen. There was no place for kindness or encouragement, only firm mentorship with a few "Goods" thrown in. She always sought this warmth, like a flower trapped in the shadows, never to feel the rays of sun.

"Have you ever been afraid, Master Jinn?" The question slipped out of her mouth before she could really think about it.

"Of course. Who hasn't?" he replied, "The absence of fear is not bravery, Elysar. It's conquering it that sets you upon the right path."

"But they say that fear is _— "_

"A path to the Dark side?" Master Jinn supplied. He sighed, an amused smile on his face, "We, Jedi, tend to run away from a great many things; strive to rid of fears and emotions lest they find a way to corrupt us. But it is embracing them, embracing this darkness and yet still choosing the light that makes one a good Jedi, Elysar."

"Master," Obi-Wan called, approaching them. He sent Elysar a strange look before saying to Qui-Gon, in a voice that seemed somehow too distant. Too cold, "The Queen wishes to see us."

* * *

The starship came out of hyperspace and after a short journey though the Naboo star system they had, at last, began to make a descent. There was little left of the Trade Federation's blockade _— _just one measly battleship and the control station that was responsible for the droid army. As Master Jinn pointed out, there was no need for a blockade once you have control of the planet.

Naboo was a picturesque planet covered in grassy planes and silver mountains, with thick woods and azure lakes. Their small envoy disembarked on the edge of one of them, hidden deep in the Naboo swamps. Queen Amidala had insisted on landing there even though captain Panaka had advised her against it. Elysar supposed it had something to do with her secretive plan _— _the Queen had told the Gungan emissary _— _Jar Jar Binks_ — _that she wished to speak with his people, but had revealed nothing more.

The abundance of greenery and the insects that Elysar encountered on their way through the forest reminded her an awful lot of a certain mission to Kashyyyk with the same company, minus the Queen and her envoy. It was during that rather unforgettable adventure that Elysar'd developed a fear of all creatures with wings. Thanks to the terrifying fire-spitting fireflies that inhabited the planet, among other decidedly unpleasant fauna and the many, many trees, Elysar had got lost. And all would've been relatively well had she not, in her wandering about, been attacked by a horde of gigantic poisonous spiders.

Thankfully, Obi-Wan had eventually come to her rescue, sent after Elysar by his Master, who had been concerned about her long absence. Elysar knew that Obi-Wan had gone rather reluctantly (they might or might not have had a fight before that), but still, she'd been glad for it _— _she'd have been dead otherwise. Elysar had been sixteen at the time and he a year older. She could hardly remember now what she'd been so mad about back then. Perhaps, because Obi-Wan had been getting sweet with Siri Tachi. _The straw-haired trollop._

He was walking with Qui-Gon now, a little ahead of her, absorbed in a deep discussion as it always was between them. However, this time, Elysar could feel that something was off about it, as though they were arguing. Her eyes then landed upon a small figure trailing a little behind and looking around the forest in wonder, seeming a little lost. Without a second thought, she strolled up to him, "Hello, Anakin."

The boy looked up, his fringe getting in his blue eyes, "Hey."

"So, how are you finding this adventure so far?"

"It's sort of cool," Anakin shrugged and said, a distant longing in his voice, "I've never left my home planet before though."

Elysar nodded in understanding, "It can be overwhelming. But you're going to get used to it. The trick," the boy looked up at her again, full of attention, "Is to surround yourself with the right people. This way, you're always home." Elysar's eyes found Obi-Wan again. She also couldn't help but notice that Anakin was looking at one of the Queen's handmaidens. It made her smile.

"Have you found the right people?"

"I think so," Elysar answered after a moment's deliberation, "Pity you don't always know who they are. But you know what? They stay by your side no matter what. Master Jinn will stay by yours and so will Obi-Wan," Elysar told him and then added, "And I if you'll have me."

The way Anakin's face lit up made Elysar's heart twinge. "Yeah," he finally said, all cocky grin and boyish confidence, "I guess you can be my friend."

"Why, thank you, Annie." Elysar laughed, "I shall be honored."

* * *

Gathered at the swamp lake's edge, the royal envoy and the Jedi were waiting for the Queen's emissary Jar Jar Bings, who had gone to Otoh Gunga to speak with the Gungan leader on behalf of Queen Amidala. He was taking quite a long time, though, and many of them were getting restless.

Not Anakin, however. He was too busy talking to one of the Queen's handmaidens _— _the girl he had been gazing at before _— _and seemed absolutely unbothered. Obi-Wan was standing far away from him and, as Elysar didn't fail to notice, some distance away from Master Jinn. From the stubbornly vexed look he was currently sending Qui-Gon's way, Elysar could tell she had been right about them having had some kind of a row. Most likely about the little sandy-haired boy.

At last, Jar Jar emerged from the swamp lake. The fact that he was alone didn't go unnoticed.

"Dare-sa nobody dare," he told them in a whiney voice, "All gone. Some kinda fight, I tink. Sorry, no Gungas...no Gungas."

Elysar's brows twitched together, "So the droid army got to them?"

"Perhaps they have been taken to camps?" Captain Panaka suggested.

Obi-Wan's face was grim as he said, "More likely they were wiped out."

Jar Jar shook his head, his ears flapping, "No...mesa no tink so. Gungan hiden. When in trouble, go to sacred

place. Mackineeks no find them dare".

"Do you know where they are?" Asked Qui-Gon.

The Gungan nodded, "Comein wissa mesa!" he bolted and ran through the swamp lake, Elysar, Qui-Gon, Obi-Wan and the little droid Artoo, along with the Queen's scarce envoy trailing behind. Jar Jar led them onto a clearing where the Gungan refugees _— _men, women and little children of all ages_ —_ were gathered around the ruins of an ancient temple. The carved heads of old deities poked out of the mossy ground, reclaimed by the swamp. One one of them stood the Gungan leader Boss Mass.

"Jar Jar, yousa payen dis time," he grumbled and let his bulgy eyes sweep over them, "Who's da uss-en others?"

The Jedi and the Naboo guards stayed behind as Queen Amidala stepped forward, her white-painted face unreadable as she spoke, "I am Queen Amidala of the Naboo...I come before you in peace."

Boss Moss huffed, "Naboo biggen. Yousa bringen da Mackineeks... Dya busten uss-en omm. Yousa all bombad. Yousa all die'n, mesa tink."

They were surrounded by the Gungans on all sides, some on foot, some rising above them on kaadu. Elysar exchanged a worried look with Obi-Wan. Captain Panaka and the rest of the Queen's guards readied their blasters.

"We wish to form an alliance..." Amidala ventured again when suddenly, one of her handmaidens stepped in front of the Queen. Elysar frowned in confusion, and judging by everyone's reaction, none of them knew what was going on.

"Your Honor..."

Artoo's whistle of surprise filled the awkward silence.

"Whosa dis?" Boss Mass barked.

The handmaiden straightened, her stance perfectly regal, "I am Queen Amidala," she announced in a clear, loud voice, "This is Sabé, my decoy...my protection...my loyal bodyguard."

Elysar's eyebrows flew up to her hairline. She turned to Obi-Wan with a befuddled look that he perfectly mirrored, while Qui-Gon just smiled as if he had expected something of the sort from the young Queen. Anakin, though, was in complete shock, his eyes round with astonishment, jumping from Padmé to her decoy and back.

"I am sorry for my deception, but under the circumstances it has become necessary to protect myself," Padmé turned to the Jedi, her eyes shifting to Anakin for a brief moment, "I apologize for misleading you."

She then returned her attention to Boss Mass, who was clearly very disgruntled by the situation, frowning suspiciously. "Although we do not always agree, Your Honor, our two great societies have always lived in peace...until now. The Trade Federation has destroyed all that we have worked so hard to build. You are in hiding, my people are in camps. If we do not act quickly, all will be lost forever. I ask you to help us...no, I _beg_ you to help us."

The Queen's envoy let out a gasp as Padmé dropped to her knees before the Gangun leader. "We are your humble servants...our fate is in your hands." Slowly, the Queen's men, too, bowed down before Boss Mass, the handmaidens and then the Jedi following suit. For a while, there was silence. And then the head Gungan erupted in laughter, and so did everyone else. "Yousa no tinken yousa greater den da Gungans," he said with a wide smile, "Mesa like dis. Maybe wesa bein friends".

* * *

It appeared that Padmé had already devised a certain plan in mind, which didn't come as a surprise to Elysar. If the girl had managed to fool a Jedi Master, she was a force to be reckoned with.

The first stage of the plan involved sending the captain of her guard, Quarsh Panaka, to reconnoiter the city and report back with some valuable intel. Meanwhile, the Queen gathered a military council of sorts, which consisted of herself, the Jedi, Boss Moss and Jar Jar Binks. She gave orders to grown men with impeccable confidence, her voice unwavering, each word deliberate. However, now that Padmé Amidala, the true Queen of Naboo, appeared before them free of her elaborate gowns and face paint, she looked incredibly young and vulnerable. Like a child. A child who had to fight a war to save an entire planet. But there was cold steel beneath the patrician softness, Elysar knew. And Padmé was not afraid to show it.

They had been awaiting the captain's arrival for some time, discussing all the possible strategies of attack when Anakin's voice resounded through the damp air of the swamps: "They're back!" he shouted. And sure enough, Elysar saw a squad of speeders pull to a stop in the clearing. Panaka jumped down and headed straight to the Queen.

"Your Highness," he bowed.

Padmé had to time for courtesies, "What is the situation, Captain?

"Almost everyone's in camps," Panaka sighed, "A few hundred police and guards have formed an underground movement. I brought as many of the leaders as I could find."

"That's good," she nodded in appreciation.

But it seemed there was no reason to get hopeful just yet.

"The Federation Army's also much larger than we thought, and much stronger," the captain gave her a wary look, "Your Highness, this is a battle I do not think we can win."

The cunning look in the Queen's eyes told Elysar that there was much more to this plan that they had initially thought. "I do not intend to win it, Captain. The battle is a diversion," Padmé told them, "The Gungans must draw the droid army away from Theed, so we can infiltrate the palace and capture the Neimoidian viceroy. The Trade Federation cannot possibly function without its head. Neimoidians don't think for themselves. Without the Viceroy, they will cease to be a threat."

Elysar was regarding the young Queen with admiration and interest, the look she could see reflected in Master Jinn and Obi-Wan's eyes.

Padmé turned to Qui-Gon, "What do you think, Master Jedi?

"The Viceroy will be well guarded."

"The difficulty's getting into the throne room," said captain Panaka, "Once we're inside, we shouldn't have a problem.

Master Jinn considered it for a moment. "Many Gungans may be killed."

"Wesa ready to do are-sa part," declared Boss Moss with a patriotic vehemence.

Padmé pondered on it. "We could reduce the Gungan casualties by securing the main hangar and sending some of our pilots to destroy their orbiting control ship."

Elysar gave a slow nod, following the thread of the Queen's elaborate strategy, "If the communication is severed, the droid army will not function at all."

Padmé sent her an appreciative smile, "Precisely."

"A well-conceived plan," Master Jinn admitted, "However, there's great risk. The weapons on your fighters may not penetrate the shields on the control ship."

"And there's an even bigger danger," Obi-Wan chimed in, "If the Vicroy escapes, Your Highness, he will return with another droid army."

Padmé dark eyes glimmered with resolution. "That is why we must not fail to get to the Viceroy. Everything depends on it."


	8. seven: part one

_long live the queen_

_Elysar knew her mission and knew it well: she was to accompany Lady Jenza of Serenno to Alderaan where she would join her estranged nephew and sister-in-law under the protection of House Organa. It was a one way trip that would take approximately six days — five if they made haste — and Elysar would be back in the Temple in time for Master Cin Drallig's lightsaber lesson with Darsha._

_Unfortunately, it appeared that she and Lady Jenza had very different hopes for this adventure. And while Elysar intended to deliver the socialite safely to Alderaan, Jenza felt like making a slight detour. To visit an old friend, she said. Although with great effort, the young Padawan managed to conceal her displeasure._

_Elysar had heard a great deal about Gatalenta — as a place with a highly potent Force-presence, it was quite popular among the Jedi who often visited the planet for meditative purposes. Gatalenta was a cradle of peace and tranquillity, of ancient temples and art, of rich culture and sweet teas for which it was famed across the entire Galaxy._

_Walking through the city by Jenza's side, Elysar couldn't quite believe her eyes. She had travelled to many planets with Master Windu, had seen her share of bustling metropolises and crowded bazaars; and still, Gatalenta was a place unlike any other. There was an uncanny sense of serenity in the air that smelt of floral aromas and sweet spices._

_No slaves, no delinquents, no black traders, no civil wars._

_Elysar watched with eyes full of wonder as people danced in the main square near the market place to the tune of street musicians playing in the corner; some were busy talking with the vendors, some engaged in passionate discussions over by the fountains — it was a beautiful celebration of life._

_"The Gatalentans are way ahead of the rest of the Galaxy," said Jenza, the look of marvel on Elysar's face clearly amusing her, "They have long learned to value the gift of life, to treasure it. Which proved to be the path to ultimate peace."_

_Elysar thought that their envoy must've looked quite conspicuous in the sea of greys and whites worn by the majority of the people, with only a splash of crimson cloaks on their shoulders. Jenza was wearing a long dress of rich turquoise embroidered with gold and silver, her flaming hair shining even brighter against the color._

_"Do they trade in slavery?" Elysar asked. Such a prosperous planet couldn't get all its revenue from exporting teas, however high the demand._

_"Oh, no. The Gatalentans have a very strict policy against it," Lady Jenza explained, "In fact, it is considered illegal. The Council of Mothers sees that all traders caught in their misdoings be severely punished."_

_Elysar was quite surprised to hear that. Slave trade was an extremely lucrative business that plagued the entire Galaxy, and it was nice to know that the price for prosperity and wealth could be lower than a person's life. Lady Jenza was right — the Gatalentans truly_ were _ahead of the rest of the Galaxy, all thanks to the seven women who governed the planet. Lady Rabella Holdo was one of them._

_The Holdo's lived in the very heart of the old city. Their house was little short of a palace one would see in books about the Old Republic: with imposing columns covered in ornaments of red stone and a frieze stretched across its facade, with gentle figures of seven Gatalentan goddesses._

_A young woman with striking blue eyes was waiting for them in the inner courtyard._

_"Lady Jenza, Master Jedi," she nodded in greeting, "I shall escort you to lady Rabella. She has been expecting you," the girl smiled and led them to the spacious terrace on the upper levels of the palace. Elysar barely suppressed the gasp at the sight of the view that opened from there: the entire city of Gatalenta was splayed before her, with its mosaic of red roofs striking against the blue sky and majestic ancient towers and temples._

_Elysar was so taken by the view, she hadn't noticed a woman approach them. "Jenza," she said with a smile that was strangely reminiscent of the young girl's in the courtyard._

_"I hope you don't mind the sudden visit, Rabella," said lady Jenza, embracing the woman in a warm hug._

_"Oh, not at all. It's been rather dull here, I should say. I am, however, curious about your companion," her shrewd grey eyes flicked to Elysar._

_The Padawan opened her mouth to reply but was cut off by Jenza, "This is my niece Elysar. She and I and traveling to Alderaan together to visit cousin Adan," lies spilled from her red-tainted lips with perfect ease. _They aren't exactly lies_, Elysar had to remind herself. Even so, why would Jenza want to hide her true identity?_

_"Niece?" Rabella looked mildly surprised by the discovery, a slight arch to her fair eyebrow._

_"Maretta's daughter."_

_The Gatalentan woman nodded, her lips spreading into a cordial smile as she studied Elysar's flushed face, "Why yes, now that you said it, I do see the resemblance. Oh, this is wonderful! Please do join me for tea, I long to hear more about your adventure."_

_Trying the famed Gatalentan drink proved to be a exhilarating experience. Elysar didn't know what she expected the tea to taste like, but she had certainly not anticipated the explosion of flavors in her mouth, the sweetness and the tangy bitterness that left a flowery aftertaste in its wake._

_Jenza was watching a wide range of emotions pass over Elysar's face, "Do you like it?"_

_"It is quite incredible," she replied with almost childish wonder. Jenza's eyes twinkled with amusement. Noticing lady Rabella give her the same look, Elysar blushed and put the cup down on the glass table._

_"How is your mother, dear?" the woman asked much to the Padawan's horror. "I haven't seen her in ages. Not since the wedding. Isn't that right, Jenza?"_

_"Yes, Rabella. Which just so happens to be the last time you _left_ the planet," Jenza pointed out wryly and took a sip of the tea._

_Rabella gave her a sly look, "I have senators for that."_

_The two of them seemed to share a long history, Elysar thought. Rabella Holdo was a friend of the family — _her_ family. She was acquainted with her mother. Perhaps, her father too. She knew more about these people than Elysar ever would. She felt a slight pang in her heart at the thought of the two strangers who had given her life and disappeared from it just as quickly._

_"Maretta is busy with her charities, as always," Jenza told Rabella. Elysar instantly relaxed, now that she didn't have to come up with lies, "Spending her husband's credits. Good for her, I say."_

_"Well, with his company doing so well, I don't think he'll notice them gone," Rabella said, "Haven't they just recently signed a contract with the Trade Federation? I think it was on the Holo News."_

_Jenza visibly tensed, "You know I don't follow the news, Bella."_

_"Mother," the same young girl who'd received them now stood in the arch that led to the terrace, "Senator Damil is calling. He brings news from Coruscant."_

_"Very well." Rabella rose from her seat, "Please stay," she told her guests, "I'll be back in a moment."_

_"Why did you lie, lady Jenza?" Elysar asked as soon as they were alone._

_Jenza looked unabashed by the accusation, her manner casual as always. "Did I? Every word I spoke was true."_

_"Except you failed to mention the nature of this _'adventure' _as well as my part in it, my lady," Elysar persisted in a calm, collected voice._

_"The less people know, the better."_

_"I got the impression lady Rabella was your friend?"_

_"She is," said Jenza. She brought the cup to her lips, took a sip. And then added, "She's also a keen politician."_

_"What are you running away from?" Elysar asked after some time of silence. She'd been wondering about this every day of their journey, but dared not ask. Her mission was to provide protection and to deliver lady Jenza to safety — the Jedi never pried. But sometimes Elysar would notice a distant, haunting look in the woman's green eyes that ruffled the dormant curiosity inside her._

_"I'm not running away, Elysar. I'm running toward," Jenza replied wistfully, "A better life, a brighter future."_

_Elysar frowned. "But someone tried to kill you. Don't you want that person caught? How else are you going to find peace?_

_A wane smile graced the woman's patrician features, "Revenge will never bring you peace, Elysar — it only nurtures the pain. In seeking to hurt another, you condemn yourself to a life of misery and sorrow. For in the end, the only one who suffers is you."_

The woodlands of Naboo were impossibly riddled, Elysar decided with much vexation as they made their way towards Theed. Every time she asked one of Padmé's handmaidens or a guard if they were getting any closer, the answer was "_We're almost there, Master Jedi_". Lies. Blatant, shameless lies.

Not a ray of light dared penetrate the thick canopy of bushy leaves that capped the soaring trees, which made Elysar lose all sense of space and time; come to thick of it, they might have just been walking for an entire day — if so, she would never have been able to tell.

"Don't worry, there are no spiders around these parts," a voice teased. Obi-Wan had apparently ceased his skulking, judging by that cocky grin on his face. And decided to join Elysar in hers.

She loathed seeing that side of him. Or rather how it made her feel. So she went straight for the jugular, "You and Master Jinn have settled your differences, I take it?"

And sure enough, the cheek was replaced by a grim suspicion, "How did you know?

"As it happens, you're exceptionally bad at hiding your emotions, Kenobi," Elysar told him and stepped over a particularly nasty branch, "I could see that ponderous frown of yours from a mile away."

Obi-Wan chuckled, and Elysar stole a quick look of the rare moment before it came to an end. "I reacted very badly," he admitted after some time, "You were right — I should've trusted Qui-Gon's judgement.

If he thinks the boy is special...then I should respect it."

Elysar knew that while Obi-Wan might've been suspicious of Anakin, his true concern was rooted somewhere much deeper, where he was still a twelve-year-old Youngling chosen to be trained by one of the most renowned Jedi. Elysar could understand this jealousy — Master Jinn had taken up an important place in his life. Becoming a solid father-figure, a mentor, a confidant. Obi-Wan must've felt a pang of betrayal at being dismissed in favor of another, even if he _was_ excited about becoming a Knight.

No one liked the feeling of being replaced.

"For what it's worth, I think Anakin is a good child," Elysar said, "You should try to give him a chance, Obi-Wan."

A moment passed before he nodded, eyes fixed on the path ahead, "Yes. Yes, I will."

When they entered Theed, the first thing Elysar heard was the deafening quiet. The Naboo capital was a ghost city; deserted, with not a soul in sight. Even the droid army was scarce, scattered around the streets in patrols, with the bulk of them dispatched to fight the Gungan army. Even so, Elysar noticed that a few tanks occupied the plaza fronting the hangar complex and that quite a number of battle droids were guarding the Naboo fleet.

Elysar and Obi-Wan hankered down in the corner of the building that was right in front of the hangar, followed by Qui-Gon, Anakin and Artoo. She looked behind to see twenty Naboo guards and pilots trailing after them. Crouched beside the Jedi, Padmé — or rather _the Queen _— eased a small laser device from her handmaiden robes. She used it to signal Captain Panaka.

After a beat, he signaled back.

The guards began to make their way to the hangar. But before the Jedi could follow, Qui-Gon leaned over to Anakin and told him to hide once they were inside. Elysar watched the boy give Master Jinn a dutiful nod with amusement.

"And stay there!" Qui-Gon warned. Something told her that Anakin would put his own spin on the command.

Across the droid-infested plaza, Panaka's fighters opened fire, splitting their metal bodies into pieces with laser blasts. The commotion was bound to attract attention which would buy the rest of their group some time to slip into the hangar unnoticed.

Taking advantage of the ruckus, Padmé, the Jedi, along with little Anakin, Artoo and the rest of the Naboo freedom fighters ran towards the open doors of the hangar...where they were met by a group of battle droids. Surprisingly, the welcome wasn't quite as warm as Elysar was hoping.

"Annie, find cover, quick!" Qui-Gon yelled, deflecting blaster shots with an admirable skill.

Elysar was never one for diversion. Instead of protecting herself, she lurched forward and with a single swish of the magenta lightsaber, cut three clankers in two. Obi-Wan gave her an impressed look which she answered with a self-assured smirk — it was like the old times, when each of them had done the craziest things to beat the other. They

"Get to your ships!" Padmé commanded, blasting away with vigor.

The pilots rushed to the starfighters under crossfire, jumping into the cockpits and preparing for take off. Elysar and Obi-Wan rushed into the thick of the skirmish where Qui-Gon and Padmé had already put down a dozen of battle droids. The remaining few were taken down by captain Panaka, who finally arrived in the main hangar with his soldiers.

"I think the Viceroy is in the throne room." Padmé told them.

She looked at Qui-Gon. "I agree," he nodded.

Together with the Naboo fighting force, they headed toward the exit from the hangar that took them past Anakin's hiding place. Noticing them, the boy jumped up in the cockpit of one of the firefighters and yelled, "Hey! Wait for me!"

"No, Annie, you stay there," Qui-Gon ordered, "Stay right where you are."

"But, I..."

"Stay in that cockpit, Anakin!"

The group continued their way to the exit but lurched to a halt when the doors slid oped, revealing a dark, cloaked figure on the other side, a long-handled lightsaber held before him. Elysar's breath caught in her throat. Yellow eyes, red tattooed skin, the waves of darkness — it was the Sith from the Crimson Corridor. The one who had killed Darsha.

Her whole body went rigid, bolts of lightening flashing before her eyes. Screams for help, the cackling laughter...You couldn't save her, you couldn't save her..._Are you afraid now, sweetheart? _

She was too delirious from fear to notice that Captain Panaka's men had flanked the Queen and given ground on Qui-Gon's command, who, together with Obi-Wan, stepped forward. They shrugged off their caps and prepared to confront the Sith.

It was only when their lightsabers came to life with a _woosh _that Elysar blinked away her terror and let it be replaced by a sizzling anger. Yes, it felt much better. She flexed her fingers around the curved hilt of the lightsaber and made to join Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan, but was stopped by Master's Jinn outstretched arm. "You should go with the Queen, Elysar," he said, eyes fixed on the dark figure before them, "She will need your protection."

"But Master Jinn — " _It is _my_ fight, not _yours.

"Obi-Wan and I will take care of this. _Go._"

Her face crumpled with indecision. "_Revenge only nurtures the pain"_, she remembered Jenza's words, "_In the end, the only one who suffers is you_." Elysar could simply disregard Master Jinn's words and launch herself at the Sith. The dark, merciless creature who had taken countless lives and would take many more if he wasn't stopped. It would be so easy: to succumb to her anger and let it nurture on the vengeful poison that was running though her veins.

But Elysar chose the light instead. She gave Master Jinn a curt nod and ran after the retreating forms of the Naboo fighters and the Queen. She took a single look back, but Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon were already gone, having disappeared behind the doors.

Elysar had almost caught up to Captain Panakas men at the exit when three destroyer droids rolled in and blocked their way, blasters at the ready. "Take cover!" She yelled jumping in front of Padmé. Her lightsaber was a blur of bright magenta as Elysar deflected the laser bolts, but even her prowess wasn't enough to destroy all three of them, especially with their shields on. But that didn't mean she couldn't try.

Despite hating the Ataru fighting style with a passion, Elysar would admit that it was quite useful at times. Charging at the destroyer droids, she did a somersault which Master Windu would deem 'adequate' and landed behind the three machines. Elysar'd only managed to slice one of them before the other two caught up and span around—

— and were completely obliterated by a series of blaster shots coming from a starfighter. Breath bated, Elysar looked up at Anakin, shocked but not quite surprised to see him in a levitating vehicle, "Good job, Annie!" she yelled with a smile. The boy gave her a thumbs up.

Elysar stayed close to Padmé as they fled the hangar and ran for the castle. There was no time to strategize, so the fastest way to get there was straight through the city, building by building, corridor by corridor, fighting through hordes of battle droids that swarmed the once peaceful capital. The element of speed and surprise was working quite well until they got caught under severe fire and had to find cover.

"Is there a more discreet way we could do this, captain?" Elysar yelled over the racket, sending laser bolts back onto the clankers.

Panaka blasted one of the droid's head off, "Yes, there...there are hidden undergrounds tunnels."

"We should hurry," Padmé said, firing at the approaching machines, "there's no time to waste."

The more clandestine approached proved to be much more successful. It led them through hidden passageways, old tunnels that ran beneath the city streets, and connecting skywalks all of which helped them avoid the droid garrisons.

They arrived at the palace rather quickly and made their way to the throne room through the watchtower and then down the surprisingly deserted halls. However, just as they were to turn the corner to the staircase, an entire patrol of battle droids appeared and opened fire. Elysar took cover as did Padmé and her followers — the odds were decidedly not in their favor in this fight.

"What do we do now? We don't have time for this!" The Queen screamed above the din of fire.

"Let's try the outside!" Panaka shouted back.

Elysar watched as he turned his blaster to the windows and blew the transparisteel to pieces to make a way out. She, along with some of the Queen's handmaidens and soldiers provided cover while Captain Panaka, Padmé and a few guards climbed out of the window. Elysar could feel sweat trickle down her forehead, her cheeks flush and she adored it, embraced the thrill of battle that she had missed even more than she'd thought. It was exhilarating — to get to meet her old self again, to look her in the eye and shake her hand in gratitude.

As the battle droids' numbers were dwindling significantly, Elysar left the rest to the Naboo fighters and followed Padmé and Panaka out of the window. Pressed to the wall on the thin ledge, she jerked her head up to see the remaining soldiers towing up the wall with the help of an ascension mechanism. Thankfully, she had no need of such — Elysar sprung up using the Force. She jumped right inside the smashed window, courtesy of captain Panaka, and joined him and the Queen on the second level.

"Just one story up," Padmé said.

They were getting closer and closer to the throne room but just as they thought it was in their reach, a pair of destroyer droid appeared at the end of the hallway, quickly transforming into battle mode. A moment later, another pair rolled in, surrounding them on all sides, their guns directed at the Queen and her guards, ready to fire.

Elysar could see Padmé assessing the situation. She was doing the same, slowly coming to the conclusion that try as she might, she wouldn't be able to take on all of them. And they didn't have enough men to fight their way out of this battle. Elysar was willing to try though, but as she met Padmé dark eyes, the Queen gave a slight shake of the head. And dropped her gun.

"Through down your weapons," she commanded, "They win this round."

Panaka sent her a puzzled look, "But your Majesty —"

"Captain," Padmé voice left no room for qualms, "I said throw down your weapons."

The Naboo dropped their blasters at once. Elysar discharged her 'saber, albeit with much hesitation. She hoped the Queen had a plan — if not, then she'd clearly lost her mind. They let the droids take them prisoner and were escorted to the Theed palace throne room. _How very ironic_, thought Elysar as a bunch of dimwitted battle droids marched them through the doors. The two Neimoidians — Nute Gunray and Rune Haako — were waiting for them inside.

"Your Highness," Gunray greeted the Queen in a disgustingly leery voice. His red bulbs flickered to Elysar, face a picture of mockery, "Oh and a Jedi. What an honor." Elysar leveled him with a cold stare.

"Viceroy," Padmé returned coldly.

"Your little insurrection is at an end, Your Highness. The rabble army of yours sent against ours south of the city has been crushed. The Jedi are clearly being dealt with," he smiled at Elysar. _Oh, what a ponce_, "And _you_ are my captive."

A ghost of a smile appeared on Padmé's otherwise unreadable face and she asked, perfectly composed, "Am I?"

The Viceroy looked confused by her unnerving calmness, "Yes, you are," he stepped forward, perhaps, to assert his dominance over a fourteen-year-old girl, "It is time for you to put an end to the pointless debate you instigated at the Republic Senate. Sign the treaty now."

The Viceroy got distracted by the commotion outside of the throne room. Elysar thought she could hear blaster shots when suddenly the doors flew open and Queen Amidala stormed in wearing a hefty regal confection, flanked by the Naboo guards.

"I will not be signing any treaty Viceroy! You've lost!" she yelled with a striking vehemence and ran off as quickly as she'd appeared. One could say she was plotting something, but not Gunray. With a bewildered look on his mottled face, the Viceroy stared at Padmé in her handmaiden robes.

At last, he commanded to the droids, pointing to the "Queen's" retreating figure, "You six! After her! The real one — not the decoy!" The droids left in pursuit of the "real" Queen, leaving the captives with two Neimoidians and a pair of battle droids.

"Your Queen will not get away with it!" the Viceroy screamed, enraged.

Padmé said nothing, which Elysar thought to be suspicious. She could've easily got rid of the remaining battle droids had her lightsaber not been currently in the Viceroy's possession. However, now of no value to the Neimoidians, Padmé was promptly dismissed.

With a head held down, she walked to the throne and slumped into it, dejected. Elysar was watching her closely, eyes narrowed as she caught Padmé pressing a button on the arm of the throne. In a split second, the Queen was armed with two blasters pulled from a secret compartment. Tossing one to Captain Panaka, Padmé fired at the blissfully ignorant squad of battle droids.

"Shut the doors!" The Captain ordered.

The Neimoidians stood helpless in the middle of the throne room, their orange eyes flickering around in search for help. But all the battle droids were laying shattered on the marble floor, and their blasters had been seized by the Naboo soldiers.

Elysar strolled up to Gunray, who was shaking from fear as she approached. She outstretched a hand and summoned her lightsaber out of his robes, eyes never leaving his ashen face, "I'll have that back, thank you," she smiled sweetly and returned to Padmé side.

"Let's start again, Viceroy," the Queen said.

"Y-Your Highness —"

"This is the end of your occupation."

"Don't be absurd," Gunray replied, tight-lipped, "There're too few of you"

Elysar smiled wryly at him,"And yet _you _are still outnumbered, Viceroy," she said and stilled. Pain shot through the Force like a ripple of electricity, surging through every midi-chlorian in the air. She felt her body tremble with it. The smile instantly dropped. The pain...it belonged to Obi-Wan.

Something was very, _very_ wrong.


	9. seven: part two

chapter seven  
_part two:_  
_little Jedi_

ELYSAR HAD BEEN staring at the chessboard in deep contemplation for a good fifteen minutes. She was assessing the pieces she still had: an appalling slug, a creature called a Kintan strider and someone with a name she couldn't bother to remember. It didn't change the situation, though — Elysar was, quite simply put, _kriffed_.

With an annoyed sigh, she moved the slug around the orbit of the Dejarik board and then along two rays. It know stood next to Jenza's burly holopiece of Houjix. With a determined gleam in her eyes, Elysar pushed the rival beast.

Only the beast pushed back and tore her good for nothing slug apart, throwing its now dismembered body on the chessboard.

Elysar's eyes flashed to Jenza, narrowed to slits, "You cheated!"

The woman smiled evasively. "Did I really?" she purred and made another move, this time pushing her opponent's piece two moves back.

"How — this is _ridiculous_," Elysar huffed, her competitiveness flaring.

Playing holochess had become their routine ever since Jenza'd suggested teaching Elysar the ways of Dejarik. At first, she had refused, reasoning that it was highly unprofessional. But as she'd watched Jenza play the game with some of the crew members and her handmaidens, curiosity'd got the best of Elysar and she had shamelessly succumbed to it.

Something'd changed between her and Jenza after their visit to Gatalenta. They'd started talking more, spent more time together. Elysar'd shared stories about her life at the Temple and about her adventures with Master Windu, some of which were rather confidential. Jenza, in her turn, had told her about Serenno and the wonderful childhood they'd all had. _Tell me about my mother_, Elysar longed to ask. But it was the line she couldn't cross — she was careful not to let Jenza get too close.

Elysar's eyes roamed the chessboard in search of a strategy that would help her win. She finally made a move and leaned back in the chair, smirking at her cleverness. Jenza looked impressed.

"So," she intoned, pushing one of her mid pieces forward, "That boy you told me about — what's his name?"

Elysar looked at her with confusion. "What boy?"

"The one that brings redness to your cheeks."

"There is no boy," she said quickly and moved her Kintan strider forward. It pushed Jenza's strange creature back, but this time, the win didn't feel quite so rewarding. Elysar let out a sigh. "But...there's a friend."

This piece of information only nurtured Jenza's curiosity. "Ah, a _friend_."

"His name is Obi-Wan. He..." _is a pain in my ass_, "is a Padawan, like me."

"How very fascinating — _forbidden love_," with a single maneuver, Jenza killed another one of Elysar's playing pieces. The girl sighed in annoyance, quietly accepting the fact that she wouldn't win this round. "I've always found

It to be much sweeter."

Elysar found herself blushing again. Love? How silly — it was not love at all. Obi-Wan drove her mad half the time and the other half he was simply being annoying with his stupid looks, absolute disregard for rules and his flirtatious ways that inevitably draw in every girl. Who would ever fall for that?

"It is merely a passing fancy," Elysar said and then muttered, "One I doubt he reciprocates."

"You are a beautiful woman, Elysar," Jenza's voice became strangely serious, "I doubt such an observation escaped his attention."

"Obi-Wan is not like that," Elysar managed to take down one of Jenza's offensive pieces — a terrifying bird-like creature, "Besides, his heart belongs to someone else." _And I could never compete with a Duchess._

Jenza's eyebrow quirked. "You Jedi aren't as chaste as I thought."

"And what about you, lady Jenza?" Elysar asked mostly to change the subject, but also out of mild curiosity, "Have _you_ ever...loved someone?"

A look of distant wistfulness fell upon the woman's face. "There were men I fancied. But love..." Jenza tasted the word. And judging by the frown on her face, it tasted bitter.

"Master Jedi," a gangly crew member, no older than nineteen — perhaps, fresh out of Pilot Academy — stumbled into the lounge room. His breath was rugged, as though he'd been running.

A look of terror on the boy's red face made Elysar shoot up to her feet, "What is it?" she asked, sensing that something was amiss.

"Captain Jabshaw wants to speak with you."

The space was a perfect starlit abyss stretching before the vast windscreen of the starship. The captain and his younger copilot were sat in front of the control center, worry etched on their faces.

"What's the matter, captain?" Elysar asked as soon as she entered the pilot station.

The man's tone was uneasy when he said, "I'm afraid we're being followed."

She leaned in to take a look at the commscan and indeed, there was a foreign ship flying closely behind. And it was gaining speed.

"Have you tried to make contact?"

"We haven't picked up on any signal," the copilot replied. He exchanged a heavy look with Captain Jabshaw, which Elysar didn't fail to notice.

"Tell me."

Captain sighed. "There's reason to believe...that this is a pirate ship, Jedi Moven."

"How big is their vessel?"

It was in that very moment that Jabshaw's eyes moved to something behind her back. Elysar span around and her face dropped at the sight of a massive starship armed with laser cannons that threatened to destroy their yacht at any moment. She let out a shaky breath, gears turning in her mind. And to think she had been groveling because of how boring this mission would be. Elysar shouldn't have lowered her guard, shouldn't have allowed herself to relax — it was a mission, not a family retreat.

"I'm going to contact the Temple and ask for reinforcements. Captain Jabshaw, we need to get Lady Jenza off this ship. Prepare the escape pod, settle the coordinates for the jump." She looked at the pirate ship with foreboding, "We need them to come to us."

Alone in a secluded chamber, Elysar called Master Windu. The hologram appeared from the comm, barely visible through the severe disturbances — the signal must've been very bad.

"Have you reached Alderaan, Elysar?"

"No, Master. There's been a hindrance, one, I'm afraid, which requires assistance." She tried to keep her voice steady but there was little that escaped Master Windu's attention.

"What happened?"

"We are being targeted by a pirate ship, Master. They have laser cannons," she added with resignation. There was no way they could fight off.

"What is your command, young Padawan?"

"I have arranged for a life pod to be prepared for Lady Jenza — the coordinates of the hyperspace jump will be transferred to you shortly," Elysar paused before saying, "When the pirates board the ship, she will have already left it."

"Very well, Elysar. I will tell the Council immediately," Master Windy finally replied, his voice strained with an emotion she couldn't quite place. "Be safe."

"Thank you, Master."

And the line went dead.

* * *

Elysar saw no obstacle in her path as she dashed through the halls of the Theed palace. She was running so fast that the rare droid garrisons began to melt into a blur as she sliced through them to clean the way. The disturbance in the Force Elysar had felt in the throne room was the only thing to guide her through the city plaza and toward the familiar building of the main hangar.

Severed droid parts were scattered on the ground among the remaining ships — but just she marveled at its deserted state, Elysar spotted three destroyer droids. Having noticed her, they rolled in to surround her and transformed into the fighting mode. As soon as she raised her lightsaber, however, the droids' laser shields disappeared, and they curled back into balls, deactivated. Elysar allowed herself a moment of confusion and then rushed for the doors where she'd last seen Obi-Wan and Master Jinn.

Crossing the hangar ground, Elysar went through an entry that led to a power station. It was an cavernous room riddled with catwalks and overhangs, the noise of heavy machinery filling the air that smelled of smoke. Carefully, she made her way through the clouds of steam and shadows and headed down the length of a long, narrow bridge. The metal frame rang beneath her feet as she ran so fast, she could barely feel the ground.

As she got closer, Elysar could feel the familiar tendrils of darkness lurking in the hot air — she was close. She rushed toward a small door at the far end of the power station. _Can you feel it now, the pain?_ Elysar squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head to silence the voice in her head and ran even faster. She passed through the door into a corridor.

Elysar didn't know what it was until a burning laser wall appeared in her way, bouncing off power struts along the entire narrow path. She was shaking, impatience curdling in her blood as sweat dripped down her skin. Elysar thought she could hear the familiar buzz coming from the end of the laser-riddled corridor, which only made the wait more unbearable — she had to make haste, there was no time to lose. Instead, Elysar slowly prowled through, waiting for a wall to drop only to be trapped behind yet another one.

As she made her way down the front end of the service corridor, she started to see two silhouettes engaged in a fascinating dance, blue and red lightsabers flashing and sizzling.

_Obi-Wan._

At last, the wall in front of her disappeared, and Elysar darted forward, closer and closer to the end of the corridor..._Weak, weak little Jedi_. Ignoring the echo, she ran only to a lurch to a stop right at the entry to the melting pit chamber, where Obi-Wan was fighting the Sith. Trapped behind the laser wall, Elysar waited.

She couldn't tear her eyes off him. Elysar knew Obi-Wan to be a skillful fighter, but he had always preferred defense over attacking, which she, personally, found quite boring. Now, however, Obi-Wan Kenobi appeared a wild beast, launching himself at the blood-skinned creature with savage abandon. There was little grace to his movements or thought, even — he was rash and sloppy and so, so angry...

But Obi-Wan never allowed anger to take over.

_Where is Master Jinn?_

Down by the melting pit, splayed on the cold metal floor was a body clad in Jedi robes. Elysar wanted to think her mind was playing tricks on her again, that nothing of it was real...but try as she might, there was no denying that Qui-Gon was dying. His presence in the Force was weak and dwindling with each passing moment.

Elysar was forced to draw her eyes away from Master Jinn when Obi-Wan and the Sith clashed into a burning stand-off, blood red again bright blue. The creature was incredibly skilled: his strength was powered by sheer anger which roared with every swift movement, every sharp attack, every calculated bate against Obi-Wan, who was too delirious from Qui-Gon's death to be collected. The Sith was clearly starting to wear him out, outmaneuvering the Padawan at every turn and responding to every strike with one twice as ferocious. Obi-Wan's face was contorted into a scowl as he charged toward the Sith with a newfound strength...

...and missed. Obi-Wan barely gained his footing when the Sith pushed him back using the Force. The attack caught him by surprise, and Obi-Wan stumbled over the edge of the melting pit and fell into the bottomless abyss.

"NO!" Elysar screamed in terror, her eyes burning with tears. He couldn't be dead, _he couldn't..._

And right in that moment, the laser wall standing between her and the Sith disappeared. And now his golden eyes were boring into Elysar with fascination — he'd only just noticed her. _Oh, the anger,_ a voice sang in her head, _Sweet, sweet anger_.

Elysar raised her lightsaber, nostrils flaring as she met the Sith's malicious stare. He was smirking at her in anticipation of another fight, a single red blade shining in his hand. Elysar studied his stealthy movement — he was smart, _very_ smart; the Sith didn't want to attack. No, it was as though he was drawing Elysar toward him, retreating back and in circles, like a spider weaving its web.

She wouldn't repeat Obi-Wan's mistake.

At last, the Sith lunged forward with a swift attack, which Elysar successfully blocked and parried, kicking him in the knee.

_Let go, little girl _— No, no, no...

He charged at her again, and Elysar swirled back, nearly escaping the burning blade. She leaped and landed behind the Sith but he'd had anticipated this move and met her blow, lightsabers clashing. They danced to the burning tune of their weapons; a dance with no lead where each struggled to gain power.

_Good for nothing brat!_

Elysar tripped and the Sith's lightsaber cut through her tunic and the skin of her arm. Hissing in pain, she recoiled. Like a bloodhound, he was quick to sniff out her weakness — the Sith's attacks became faster and more determined. Elysar was beginning to struggle deflecting them.

_Let yourself feel it, little Jedi — a surge of electricity shot through her body..._.screaming from the scorching agony, Elysar stumbled back, her body convulsing from the impact. But before she could prepare herself for another attack, her throat tightened. Elysar's hand shot to her neck, clawing at the skin in a desperate attempt to draw breath, but it was clutched by an invisible force. When she raised her eyes, she saw the Sith smirking at her as he lifted her limp body in the air, tightening the grip around her throat.

_The pain is meant to be felt._

Black dots were dancing before her eyes, slowly clouding her vision like a thin, starless vale. Her head felt light, her body floating. Until it wasn't anymore _— _it plummeted to the hard ground, and it should've hurt...only Elysar couldn't feel anything.

Through the haze, she saw a pair of emerald eyes before the world went dark.

* * *

Elysar and members of lady Jenza's guard were gathered at the door that led to the airlock, awaiting the arrival of the foreign shuttle. According to Captain Jabshaw, the pirates had dispatched one some time ago and if his estimates were correct, it would enter the yacht's hangar in a matter of minutes.

She could feel the tension among the crew, and although it was in Elysar's power to provide some reassurance and raise the overall spirits, she herself was too anxious to act optimistic. She only hoped that Lady Jenza and her handmaidens would get the signal and flee the yacht as planned.

"They are here," a crew member announced, his voice shaky as he looked at the commscan.

Elysar nodded, her back straightening,"Open the airlock."

The shuttle landed and the pirates spilled out from its doors like vermin: they were of different races and sizes but united in their ruggedness and the sneers on their faces. Armed with weighty blasters, they were looking around the hangar as they slowly moved to the entrance.

"Unlock it," Elysar commanded.

The door of the hangar slowly raised up, and the pirates' attention quickly switched to the newly revealed hosts of the vessel they had hijacked. Elysar stepped forward, flanked by the members of Jenza's guard on both sides, and swept her gaze over the unwelcome guests. Just when she wondered which one of them was the leader, the pirates skittered away, as though to clean the path for someone.

And in sauntered a man in a wide-brimmed fedora. He was walking as if the pirate-infested hangar was a stage and everyone in the audience had been anticipating the arrival of the lead actor. He was beautiful in a way that a shining razor of a blade seemed appealing: for its alluring danger. Elysar thought it was quite young — in his late twenties — which made her wonder how he'd managed to earn the respect of his crew and get a starship so big and loaded with ammunition. It must've been something truly impressive. Something truly _appalling_.

"Greetings, fellow travelers," his voice was accented, one she couldn't place. He rolled the r's in a very peculiar manner, and talked with a flare of drama, enunciating every word as if he was an actor in the Grand Theatre, "Why the grim faces? Are you not happy to see us?" he let out a theatrically despondent sigh and said to a strange humanoid creature next to him, "What did I tell you, Iskja? We ought to have announced ourselves!" The female made a gurgling sound that was supposed to be a snappy retort.

"My apologies," the man gave them a disarming smile, showing two rows of straight, white teeth. Elysar felt a slight dissonance at his appearance: from what she'd heard about pirates, this man patently didn't resemble one, clad in robes, albeit much disheveled, one would expect to see on a nobleman. "Say, d'you have anything to drink? The best way to resolve a conflict is over spirits, no?"

Elysar was more dumbfounded than scared. This strange man confused her: she couldn't quite decide if all of that was an act meant to sedate her into submission or if he was truly serious.

"What do you want?" she finally asked.

The pirate's pitch-black eyes darted to Elysar's slight frame. It seemed he hadn't noticed her before she spoke up. He took in her attire, lingering on the metallic hilt of the lightsaber hanging from her belt. Then he finally snapped them up to meet her glare, "Lady Jedi."

Elysar narrowed her eyes, "There is nothing for you on this ship."

The pirate looked at her with amusement. "Why, I beg to differ. This yacht's bound to belong to someone very important," his eyes twinkled, "And with a Jedi on board? I'd say we're in luck, gentlemen.

Elysar let out an internal scoff, _Gentlemen_.

"I don't know who you were expecting to see, but there is no here save for the crew and myself."

The pirate smirked, his eyes wandering to something behind Elysar. "Oh, is that it? Then who is _this_ vision?"

With a deep frown on her face, she whirled around and saw..._Jenza_? Elysar stilled, eyes wide with horror. _Why hadn't she left? _Without a second doubt, Elysar ignited her lightsaber and blocked Lady Jenza from the pirate's view. The guards followed her lead and took out their blasters, aiming them at the crew of delinquents.

The pirate sighed, almost in disappointment. Or boredom. "Must we?"

Elysar stood her ground with a stubborn determination. Realizing that there was no sueding her, the man gestured his men to move forward. And the fight began.

She went into offense, but rather then killing her opponents, Elysar was trying to maim them enough to get them out of her way. Some were easier to deal with than others, particularly a burly Trandoshan who was very keen on catching Elysar with his wide reptilian claws.

See could see that some of Jenza's men were struggling to retaliate and fell victim to the pirates' unsurprisingly good aim. Together, however, they had managed to knock down a great number of them, and by the end of the skirmish, the pirates were lying on the floor, groaning.

Breathing heavily, Elysar raised her eyes to look at their leader, who was casually picking at his nails. As if sensing her seething glare, he looked up.

"Oh, you're done already? _Very_ impressive," he walked closer, stepping over one of his men's body, "Have to say, though, I am disappointed by your lack of hospitality. This is no way to receive guests. Am I right, gentlemen?" At this, more men appeared from the shuttle and surrounded them. Elysar's shoulders sagged.

The pirate strolled up to her, a swagger to his step. "Now, I extend a grand invitation to my ship. Cuff them," he ordered his crew without breaking eye contact. "Allow me to show you what it means to be a gracious host."

* * *

_So much for hospitality_, thought Elysar as they were thrown into a cell, shackled.

"Why didn't you leave?"

"The would've killed you."

"And now they will kill _us_, so excuse me for trying to understand how this outcome is any better," Elysar seethed, eyes trained on the little space she could see through the bars.

"With me here, the chances of us dying are much lower," Jenza replied, unbothered. Was she ever fazed by anything? "This way, they are likely to hold me for ransom. I can bargain for your life."

Elysar turned to her, "I was supposed to protect you, not the other way around, lady Jenza. My life doesn't matter as long as yours is in danger."

"You're mistaken, Elysar," Jenza's voice was low and heavy with emotion, "Your life matters to me a great deal. I do not care about the Jedi code nor do I give a damn about their misguided ideals — you are my family."

Elysar stared at the woman's noble profile, speechless. Even in shackles, even imprisoned on a pirate starship, Jenza remained stoic, with her shoulders back and her chin up. "I don't — "

"Did I interrupt something?"

Elysar took a deep breath to curb her growing annoyance and threw a glare at the pirate who had magically appeared in front of their cell. And Jenza...smiled at him?

"Not at all, Mister?..."

"Percival," his drawled, "You can call me Percival."

Elysar thought the name sounded strangely familiar. "Reeves? Percival _Reeves_?"

The man looked at her with delight, "Well, I see my reputation precedes me," he winked.

"Your reputation as a _pirate_."

Percival winced dramatically, "I prefer to call myself a traveller, an opportunist_, a man of business_."

"A lawless marauder," Elysar offered gruffly.

"I abide no law, so none is broken," he shrugged. "Everything is fair game when the world is yours for the taking, little Jedi."

"So what is your next move, Mister Reeves?" asked Jenza.

"You should learn some manners from your companion," Percival said to Elysar and then gave her aunt a charming smile, "So good of you to ask. I was thinking of selling you to the Zyggerians — they would pay handsomely, but I do not like to deal with their kind. Have you ever met a Zyggarian? Be glad you didn't have the displeasure — all the slaves to do with as they please and yet they are no fun at all. _Tragic_," Percival sighed, "I could get a lot of credits for that lightsaber, but it would draw too much attention on the black market," he tsked, "We can't have that, now can we? Which leaves another hundred of scenarios that see me indecently rich. However, before settling on one, I'd like to have some suggestions from you, ladies."

Jenza leveled him with a calm look, as though his sugar-coated threats hadn't affected her at all. "I suppose you already know who I am, Mister Reeves."

Percival bowed, "Lady Jenza of Serenno."

"Now, _captain_," her eyes gleamed in the dim lighting of the cell, "Should any harm come to me or my companions, my brother — Count Dooku, you've heard of him, haven't you, Mister Reeves? — will be most displeased with you and your little marry band of criminals. So here's my suggestion," Jenza told him, "I will transfer two hundred thousand credits to your account, assuming you have one; the ship is yours to take as well. In return, you will take us to Alderaan where we'll part ways and never see each other again."

Percival seemed positively thrilled by the proposition or, perhaps, the way Lady Jenza met his challenging with one of her own. He chuckled and was about to say something undoubtedly witty, when the three of them heard a strange thud coming from the adjacent corridor.

"Hold that thought," Percival said and disappeared from sight.

"He will never agree to these terms," Elysar noted.

"I suppose we will see."

After almost half an hour passed, Elysar started to get suspicious. What could be taking him so long? For a moment she had allowed a silly though that the Jedi reinforcements had finally arrived to save them, but she knew it couldn't be so. She would've felt their presence.

The sound of nearing steps made Elysar straighten up in alarm. Her brows twitched towards each other. She had learned to recognize Percival's trace in the Force, and this...this was something completely different.

"What is it?" asked Jenza, noticing the apprehension on her niece's face.

But there was no need to answear that question. Not when a woman appeared in front of their cell, her blue eyes the color of ice, looking at them with lazy amusement. She pressed a button on the control pad and the cell doors creaked open. So did their shackles.

Elysar quickly rose to her feet and tossed them aside, helping Jenza up as well. But her aunt seemed almost dazed, her jade eyes fixed on the woman standing in the doors of the prison cell. She was watching them with a bored look, something disturbingly malicious twinkling in her almost translucent eyes that were heavily lined with black. Her ashen skin was covered in strange tattoos of pale purple, stretching from her shaved skull and protruding from the corners of her eyes and mouth.

The woman crossed her arms, "Well?" she drawled, "Are you going to come out of there anytime soon?"

There was something about her that made Elysar's senses cry out in alarm and suspicion. A caress of the Force tinged with something dark. "Who are you?"

"What, no thanks? How about now?"

Elysar noticed her lightsaber in the stranger's extended hand. Grudgingly and with much suspicion, she reached out and snatched it back, as if she feared it was a trap.

"Who _are_ you?" Elysar asked again, clutching the weapon tightly in her fist. _The lightsaber is your life_.

"An anonymous benefactor," the woman said. She then spun around and started walking towards the narrow corridor that led to the airlock, "Follow me, I can get you off this ship."

Pushing Jenza behind her, Elysar called, "And why would we do that?"

The woman's stride slowed, then stopped. She tilted her head, as though considering the words, "Why don't you ask your aunt?"

"Wh —" the words died on Elysar's lips when she turned to lady Jenza. Her face went completely white, not a faintest trace of emotion to be found, "Jenza?" Elysar whispered, hoping for once that her senses were lying to her.

"You need to leave, Elysar."

_There has been an attempt on her life, _Master Windu's words rang in her head. Elysar'd known the truth before she was forced to accept it. The stranger reeked of anger, of wickedness, and the Force within her was...distorted. Bleeding, screaming, torn into shreds.

Elysar's fingers felt numb. Her grip on the weapon was so tight, she could feel the metal protrusions of the hilt biting into her skin. Adrenalin spiked through her body as the magenta blade ignited, the sound filling the quiet of the chamber.

The assassin turned around, a smirk playing on her dark-tainted lips, "And there I thought this was going to be dull."

"Who sent you?" demanded Elysar.

The woman strolled up to them, her step as languid as a cat's, "Aren't you an inquisitive little thing? Well," she mused with a sigh, "I suppose I can indulge your curiosity," her translucent eyes flashed to Jenza, "I was sent by my Master."

Jenza grasped Elysar by her arm and whispered, "Elysar, please, you need to step back —"

But Elysar didn't listen. "You are not a Jedi," she said, eyes narrowed.

"I never said I was, darling." With that, two fire blades emitted from the lightsabers in both her hands, burning crimson.

Elysar's eyes involuntarily widened as she took in their bloody color. She shook her head dumbly, "It can't..."

"Oh, it can," the woman laughed. She prowled in circles like a vulture, "Shall we start? I do have places to be."

Elysar stepped forward but Jenza caught hold of her arm, "Just leave," she begged. Elysar frowned at the look of quiet resignation in her eyes. Confusion crept into Elysar's expression, but before she had a chance to say something, she noticed the assassin advance toward them.

"Hide, lady Jenza!" she ordered and fended off the first attack.

Their lightsabers clashed, magenta against crimson, dark eyes boring into the silver ones. With a snarl, her opponent moved swiftly to the side and leaped forward — Elysar'd barely managed to dive under the burning blade. She swung her lightsaber in retaliation, driving the assassin back under continuous assault, until the woman finally parried with a force that sent Elysar tumbling back.

The assassin possessed a great deal of velocity, her movements swift to the point of being almost undetectable. Elysar struggled to meet her attacks and even land her own — the assassin jumped from one corner to another, like a wraith.

"Not bad, little Jedi," she taunted as they came apart.

"Who is your Master?" Elysar demanded, her breath heavy.

The woman gave her a sweet smile, "Wouldn't you like to know?"

The sound that left Elysar's mouth as she launched herself forward couldn't be described as anything but a feral growl. She charged at the assassin with a newly-discovered abandon, landing one attack after another in rapid succession.

She couldn't let lady Jenza die. Not when she'd just found her.

"Oh, the anger," the assassin bated, parrying each attack with ease, "Sweet, sweet anger."

Master Windu had once told her that anger, like any dark emotion that overruled one's mind, was like a parasite that ate at one's thoughts and strength. A feeling so strong gave one a momentary advantage but it wasn't without a price.

The anger was slowly draining Elysar. She had attacked too fast, with too much vigor and had nowhere to draw power from anymore. But she had the skills, honed by one of the best swordsman in the history of the Jedi. Had years of lightsaber practice, tears and cries and blisters — _the lightsaber was her life_. They were one in the same.

And so Elysar pushed the darkness away, took a deep breath and began anew.

Her attacks were swift, precise and collected, her face serene and breathing steady — not a movement out of place. She noticed the look of surprise on the assassin's face — the woman leaped and bounced off one of the walls to land an attack from behind, but Elysar spun around just in time to block it. With a single gesture, she Force-pushed the assassin away, sending her straight into the open doors of the cell. The woman collapsed to the floor, one of the lightsabers flying out of her hands...and landing straight into Elysar's.

But just as the cold metal met her skin, she froze. And a strangled cry fell from her lips.

Pain. So, so, _so_ much pain.

Darkness. Damp cave. Screams...

_"Good for nothing brat!" _a voice yelled.

_"I'm sorry, Master,"_ another one croaked out through tears of defiance. He had broken her, broken her spirit...

"_I do not have need of your apologies! You're weak,"_ the man spat, _"I shall return you back where I found you _—_"_

_"No!"_ The girl screamed in horror, _"I beg you, Master!"_

_"You do not beg!"_ a lightening of bright blue flashed through the darkness and hit Elysar straight in the chest. It was like her heart stopped — the pain was breathtakingly strong, burning, blinding...And then again and again, _and again_.

"Elysar!" Jenza's scream tore through the deafening clamor.

_"Let go, little girl —"_

Elysar crumbled to the ground, her throat raw from screaming. She could barely open her eyes, her lashes heavy with the weight of tears, her whole body aching. Someone was crying...

"What did you do to her?"

When Elysar finally had the strength to do it, she saw the assassin standing over her with a smile and something akin to fascination in her eyes. She crouched down and snatched her lightsaber away from Elysar's limp hand. "Let yourself feel it, little Jedi," she whispered, "The pain is meant to be felt. Take it and use it to make yourself stronger."

Through bleary eyes, Elysar saw the assassin rise back to her feet. "There is no place for weakness. At least this your Order got right."

With that, she threw one of her lightsabers. The weapon circled the room, a blur of bloody crimson, and found its lethal aim in lady Jenza.

"NO!" Elysar screamed, ripping her chords to shreds. She had to move, had to _fight_, but every nerve in her body was spasming, electrocuted.

The assassin summoned the lightsaber and caught it in her right hand. "You're quire welcome, darling," she said to Elysar. And then she left. Like a wraith, a shadow. A monster, disappearing into the shadows.

Not being able to stand up, Elysar crawled to Jenza's limp body and took her hand into hers, "The Order is going to find us soon, I am sure they have dispatched..."

"Elysar, Elysar," Jenza whispered, blood trickling out of her mouth. The same color as the scarlet lipstick she always wore.

"You're going to be fine, Lady Jenza," Elysar spluttered through tears, "Hold on a little longer—"

Jenza's lips stretched into a wane smile, "I-It was a g-great pleasure m-meeting y-you, sweet Elysar," her hand reached to touch Elysar's face, "Be kind like your mother. Do not mourn me, do not seek to avenge me," a cough tore through throat, blood bubbling, "Revenge only nurtures pain", she croaked out, "In the end, the only one who suffers is you."

And her green watchful eyes went blank.


	10. eight

**_something lost, something found_**

_Five years later_

_27 BBY_

**ELYSAR WOULD NEVER** forget the day she learned what the Force was. Perhaps, she'd been told many times before — she'd been very young, after all, and her memory had been fleeting, much like her attention. But that day, in the darkness of the training atrium, surrounded by her fellow clanmates, Elysar couldn't tear her eyes away from the starlit hologram of the Galaxy.

Master Yoda'd pulled the shades over the tall windows, and suddenly, all the light had been sucked out of the bright room. The Younglings watched with wide eyes as their teacher placed a crystal ball onto the map reader and gasped when the room was set alight once more, engulfed in a radiant blue light.

You cannot see the Force. You cannot touch the Force. And yet it is the very thing that unites the entire universe. There is no life without the Force. There is no Force without life — they are so intertwined, it is impossible to tell where one ends and the other begins. Master Yoda said that while Force streamed though every living form, the Jedi were the only ones who could feel its presence so acutely, they could bend it to their will. But to do that, he told the impressionable Younglings, one had to be light of heart and clear of mind.

Elysar found that she understood it now better than she ever had before. Eyes closed against the gentle caress of the wind, she listened to its lulling northern song. She could hear the rustling of the leaves, the birds chirping in the heart of the forest and could feel the frail snowflakes dancing in the crisp air only to melt on her hot skin.

Elysar took a deep breath, her chest inviting the pleasant chill. Hovering mid-air on a cliff, she opened her eyes and let them sweep over the breathtaking scenery laying before her, one she still couldn't get used to. The sun was peeking out from the snow-crowned tops of the rocky mountains, enveloping the green planes of Zeffo is the golden morning light. Elysar could almost feel the break of dawn and every living being that came alive with it, awoken from their slumber.

She could also feel one living being in particular standing behind her, very much awake.

"What do you want, Jaryn?" Elysar droned.

"Are you busy?"

"It depends. What do you want?"

A pause. "I need your help with something."

"Can't it wait?"

"It could," said Jaryn, "But I'd rather it didn't. There's something you need to see."

Elysar blew out a deep sigh and threw one last longing look at the striking panorama before landing back on the ground. Jaryn was waiting for her near the trail that led to the village, leaning on on a rock in what was supposed to be a nonchalant pose but somehow perfectly displayed his anxiousness. Elysar took in his soot-covered woolen jacket and the layer of dust on his thick black curls — that, along with the sheepish look in the boy's eyes, was enough for her to make an unfortunate conclusion.

"I told you not to go to the temple alone, Jaryn. It's —"

"— dangerous, I know. But I've found another way in and...and just come with me. Please?"

Elysar could never say 'no' to him and for that very reason was now following Jaryn Farha down the barely beaten trail through the woods. It was quite easy to get lost inside the labyrinth of greenery, but Elysar wasn't worried about it — despite his young age, Jaryn knew this land better than anyone.

He was only fourteen when she'd arrived on Zeffo, already helping Master Cordova in his research. Jaryn was an incredibly able young boy with a great knowledge of the old Zeffo culture, which proved to be of incredible value to the old Jedi. Elysar later learned that it was the boy's grandmother who had taught him everything he knew: she was a famed witch — or a _sage_, as the people called her — in the small village that lay south of the ancient Zeffo temple. Some even whispered that she had the old Zeffonian magic coursing through her blood, that she possessed the power of the Wind. But Elysar knew those were just tales weaved by those who wanted something to believe in, and while the old Melcka Farha was by no means Force-sensitive, she knew a great many things about it. Or, better say, about the _Wind of Life_. It was from her old books, passed down through generations in the Farha family, that Elysar and Master Cordova'd learned about the tricky quests that riddle the ancient Zeffo abode.

She and young Jaryn were on their way to one of them when Elysar realised that something wasn't quite right. "Where are we going?"

The usual path to the main temple, known among the villagers as The Eye of the Storm, led straight through the woodlands. Master Cordova had discovered it upon his first study of the planet and after years of research, he discovered a shortcut that saved one a lot of time and energy.

Now, however, Elysar and Jaryn were leaving the beaten trail behind. In favour of a steep serpentine road along the ridges of a snow-covered mountain.

"Just follow me," Jaryn told her expertly, "And don't look down. I did the first time..." he looked at the top of the mountain and gulped, "Try not to, alright?"

And up the serpentine they went. The path was quite narrow and covered in snow, which made it all the more dangerous — a single move out of place and one could easily slip and fall off the edge. Elysar did take a look down, though, and the view did little to scare her — there were very few things now that could that. In fact, she was finding the whole walk quite relaxing.

"In here," called Jaryn. He was pointing to a gaping hole in the mountain.

Elysar cut him a surprised glance and stepped into the dampness of the cave. The thick walls dulled any noise from the outside, the sound of the wind becoming a quite wail.

"Does your grandmother know what you're up to in your spare time, Jaryn?" she asked, following Jaryn down the tunnel.

"I usually tell her I'm out collection herbs."

"And do you actually bring her any?"

"I buy them from the market on my way back," he replied with an endearingly naive nonchalance.

Elysar exhaled a laugh.

"Alright," Jaryn stopped, "now we need to get to the other side."

"Why are you whispering?"

"I don't know," he sounded truly confused by the question, "It seemed appropriate. We're _in a cave_."

Elysar sighed and walked past Jaryn's dumbfounded form to study the gaping gulf that split the cave in two. The only thing connecting the two sides were the remains of split rock protruding from the murky depths of the mountain.

"Let's go, then," she said and made the first leap. Elysar jumped from one rock to another with a careful elegance and smiled when the sounds of Jaryn's much less graceful grunts echoed through the empty cave, "Are you alright?"

"Yes," the boy replied quickly, trying to keep the strain from his voice, "Perfectly fine. Go on, we're almost there."

The cave branched into two separate paths, and Jaryn spent some time trying to remember which one he had taken the day before. "The one on the right," he concluded at last, and they stepped into the stark darkness. Elysar took out her lightsaber to light the way — Jaryn threw a wondrous look at it. He still couldn't get used to seeing it in real life and not in the books he was so keen on reading.

Jaryn led them down a particularly narrow passage. Elysar had to press her back to the wet rock to squeeze through, the sharp points piercing into her skin beneath a thick leather waistcoat. It took them only a few minutes to make it out, which'd felt like hours to Elysar. Finally, she could breath again.

Jaryn was waiting for her, his eyes bright with excitement. Elysar was about to ask him what atrocious impediment awaited them next when her eyes fell on the scene behind him. Pieces of rock were gravitating around an ancient contraption which looked to be some sort of a lifting mechanism, revolving in a frantic whirl of wind. _The Eye of the Storm_.

"I couldn't get passed it," Jaryn said, "Figured you or Master Cordova could use your powers to get through."

"Why didn't you go to him?"

"I did, but he wasn't there."

"I'm honoured to be your first choice, Jaryn," Elysar drawled sarcastically. A remark that went right past the boy's ears.

"Can you do it then? Get rid of the rocks?"

Elysar examined the rapid current with deliberation. Now, if she tried to remove the rocks from it, there was no telling if the attempt would backfire — the wind was powered by the Force itself, and interfering with it could have unfortunate consequences. But if she...

"Stand back," Elysar commanded and came closer to the whirl of wind. She raised both hands and tried to reach the current through the Force. Its power was striking, almost wild in its abandon, and Elysar had to make a significant effort to curb it. Ever so gradually, the whirl was starting to slow down, and after a moment, the rocks froze in the air. So did the wind.

Elysar dropped her hands and looked back at Jaryn, "Come on, it won't stay this way for long."

"I can't believe it," Jaryn breathed as he stepped into the peculiar contraption. It was a tall cylinder made of stone with filigree metal insertions that looked deceptively frail. But it wasn't the lift itself that had shocked the boy, but rather what he saw inside. Right in the very center there was a shallow cavity with a golden sphere in it.

"It looks like the ones we saw in the main temple," said Elysar.

Jaryn nodded, "A Wind Chime, the ancient Zeffo believed they could only be moved by the Wind of Life. _The Force_, as you call it. I think it enables this contraption to move," he looked up to better inspect the mechanism and then down at the engravings on the ground. "Ha, very clever," he mumbled and crouch down to examine the golden embossment.

"What is this?"

"I believe this is our way down," Jaryn replied and then stepped on it. The moment he did it, the lift plummeted down. Elysar barely managed to grab on to the railing to stay up, but Jaryn failed to do so, and she had to use the Force to keep him from falling when the contraption lurched to a sudden halt.

A thick cloud of dust and rock particles crumbled down from the ancient mechanism that hadn't been used in centuries. Both Elysar and Jaryn broke into a fit of coughing, "Are you alright?" Elysar managed to croak out. She couldn't even see him him through the mist of dust.

"Yeah," Jaryn replied and coughed again, "Are you?"

"I'm fine. I assume we have arrived? Wherever it is that this abominable contraption was supposed to take us," she waved a hand in front of her face to dispel the haze and see where they'd landed.

"It's another cave," Jaryn sounded rather disheartened by the discovery.

"Well, I doubt this thing will take us up now," Elysar said, eyeing the golden sphere which had rolled away in the aftermath of the landing, "So we'd better explore other options."

"I don't get it," the boy complained as they made their way through yet another riddled tunnel. The humid air was almost unbearable after the dust they'd inhaled earlier. Elysar felt suffocated, the dampness sticking to her skin in a thin layer, "Why would they put protection around it if there was nothing down here?"

"Have patience, Jaryn," said Elysar, "The Force led you here. And it never errs."

For she was feeling the pull as well. There was a very particular feeling to this place: it comprised a sense of longing with that of power and sapience accumulated through hundreds, even thousands of years. Elysar was sure that wherever the caves led, they would end up where the Force'd meant for them to be.

Eventually, though, they came to a dead end: the rest of the way was blocked by a pile of rocks, to which Jaryn reacted with a despondent sigh, "I do believe the Wind of Life was not meant for us — "

With a swish of a hand, Elysar sent a current of the Force against the impenetrable wall, and it quickly fell apart, the rocks now laying scattered on the damp ground of the cave. Both Elysar and Jaryn froze, staring at the archway that had been hidden behind it.

"That's another tomb," Jaryn's voice was filled with marvel, his faith newly restored as he followed Elysar into the circular room. It appeared to be an atrium, the cracks in the high dome ceiling letting in the sunlight. The rays fell down upon the remains of imposing Zeffo statues that now lay in a rubble, the faded writings on the walls and found reflection in the glass-covered tomb of a Zeffo Sage.

"This is Eilrem," Jaryn translated the writing on the foot of the grave, "One of the greatest Zeffo Sages."

Elysar jerked her head at the Zeffo hieroglyphs engraved on the left of the casket, "What does it say?"

"Uhm..." Jaryn leaned in to better see the inscriptions, "_He who becomes one with the Wind, look into the Eye of the Storm,_" he looked down at the stone statue of Eilram buried beneath the glass, "I will have to transcribe that when we get back."

"This is why this temple is a vergence point," said Elysar, "It is the burial sight of not one, but two Zeffo Sages. No wonder the Force is so strong here — I can almost here their voices..."

"Look at this," Jaryn approached one of the walls, his head tilted up as he inspected a carving in the stone. Those were elaborate striations which together created a ridged, rough surface.

"It looks like the bark of a tree."

Jaryn gave a silent nod, "Look at the detail," he whispered in complete awe, "I haven't seen a tree like that on Zeffo."

The chilling quiet of the tomb was pierced by a foreign sound. Jaryn hadn't heard it, too absorbed in studying the carving, but Elysar had quickly caught the change in the air. She whirled and swept her sharp dark eyes over the atrium: there seemed to be no visible disturbance, until...

"Jaryn," Elysar called, frozen in place as she watched a Tomb Guardian come to life in the far off archway of the circular room. She and Master Cordova had come across a few of them in the main temple but those were dormant, unmovable statues donned in metal armour. The one she was looking at right now, however, was slowly moving towards them, a power core glowing bright blue from its chest, "Jaryn, run!"

The scream seemed to finally attract the boy's attention and he whipped around, horror-stricken at the sight of the machine. Jaryn had no time to let out a terrified shriek. He'd barely managed to dodge the arcing laser blast that had emerged from the Guardian's chest.

"Where do we go now?!" Jaryn yelled over the sound of the giant machine's stomps as it changed its trajectory to get closer to Elysar.

"Get back to the caves! I'll deal with him," she yelled back and took out her 'saber, magenta light emerging from the metal hilt with a hiss. The Guardian was three times her size, and Elysar was pretty sure it could easily crash her like a nagging pest. He'd been designed for it, after all — to keep the temple safe from all those who wished to penetrate its walls.

Elysar's eyes zeroed in on the power core nested in the machine's chest. A plan quickly formed in her mind. She darted forward before the giant machine could register her swift movement and attacked it from behind, landing a series of blows against the unyielding armour. The Guardian turned around and lifted its cavernous foot before stomping it with a force that sent a shockwave through the room. Elysar managed to roll aside and escape the blow, but got caught in the aftermath, the power of the foot stomp sending her flying to the opposite corner of the atrium.

Her head was pounding from the collision, and it took Elysar a moment to get back to her feet — just in time to dodge a salvo of blasts that had escaped from the Guardian's power core. When the fire finally ceased, Elysar was quite worn out from swerving around. Sure, she had been training all these years, but never with an opponent. And certainly not with one so deadly. But she needed to finish him off and she needed to do it fast, and so Elysar tightened her grip on the hilt of her weapon and charged at the machine. The Guardian might've been bigger and stronger, but Elysar had one significant advantage — her velocity.

Before the enormous walking statue could swing at her with one of its heavy arms, she ducked and rolled to the side, which gave her a perfect opportunity to attack. Her lightsaber struck, leaving sharp, burning dents in the metal armour but not quite cutting through it — there needed to be more pressure.

"You've got to be kriffing kidding me," Elysar muttered when the Guardian faced her, its chest glowing bright blue. She knew what that meant and masterfully dodged every blast sphere that came her way, getting closer and closer to the machine. She'd noticed that these discharges made it vulnerable, unable to block an attack, and Elysar intended to make great use of that.

Yet another blast missed its mark as she broke into a sprint and finally made a leap towards the Guardian, lightsaber clutched in both hands in front of her. The fire blade sunk into the metal armour and glided deeper and deeper under Elysar's weight. Finally, she landed on the ground and so did the Guardian, falling apart with a dull clatter against the ancient stone.

Breathing heavily, Elysar turned to Jaryn who was standing in the archway. He had the look of absolute shock on his face as he stared at Elysar and then at the machine at her feet.

Elysar turned off her lightsaber and trudged up to him with a slight limp in her left leg, "Never..." she breathed, looking right into his wide ember eyes, "...go to the temple alone. Do you understand, Jaryn?"

He gave a single nod.

* * *

Thankfully, Jaryn managed to find another way out of the deep caves and soon they finally made it out of the riddled labyrinth of endless tunnels. It was quite exhilarating, really, to see the light of day after almost three hours of murky darkness.

They were half-way to the village when they heard and then saw a starship in the cloudless sky above their heads. Zeffo was a rather small planet on the Outer Rim of the galaxy which rarely fell under travellers' radar, mostly because of its strong winds and overall unfavourable weather. Which is why as soon as Elysar and Jaryn spotted the ship, they knew exactly who it belonged to. And so they headed down to the clearing at the island's edge instead, where they knew the ship would land.

Sure enough, just as Jaryn and Elysar got off the mountain path, Elysar saw the ship hovering mid-air before slowly sinking to the ground. The doors slid open and Cere Junda, Master Cordova's former Padawan, came down the boarding ramp, her dark skin glowing in the sun. She smiled as she spotted Elysar and Jaryn approaching.

"Good to have you back Cere," greeted Elysar, "Any news?"

"Oh, it was there," there was excitement in her voice that Cere tried to mask with boredom. She would never admit that Master Cordova's research truly fascinated her. Elysar was sure that it did, though: Cere had seemed quite thrilled when the old Master'd sent her to planet Bogano to check his theory on electromagnetic fields. Cordova believed that their presence in the atmosphere meant that the Zeffo had at some point inhabited the planet. And it appeared he was right.

"That's what my grandmother said," Jaryn pointed out.

"Legends are legends, boy," Cere told him, "we needed to be sure".

"Come on, then," Elysar called them, already moving towards the village, "I'm sure Master Cordova will be happy to hear that."

Eno Cordova was an exceptional explorer and archeologist. Elysar never ceased to be amazed by the wondrous workings of his mind. Not only did he possess an incredible amount of knowledge, he had the rare ability to alter his beliefs to welcome the most absurd of notions. And somehow, deep in the caverns of his fascinating mind, Eno Cordova found perfect explanations for them.

He had spent many years studying the Zeffo culture and the Wind of Life, seeking any traces of their existence across the galaxy. It had begun as a mere fascination that had slowly grown into obsession and become his life's work.

"Did you find anything new?" Cere asked as they walked through the village. It was a rather small settlement at the foot of the mountain, little huts made of grey stone scattered across the curvy hills, one atop another. The streets were narrow and bustling with life, little children laughing as they chased after each other, their mothers hanging laundry out to dry.

When Elysar'd first arrived here, she kept her distance from the locals, hiding behind the wooden door of her tiny hut. But that place and its people possessed a certain light and warmth that drew one like a wandering firefly.

"We've found some old writings on the walls, deep inside the tomb, but so far Master Cordova hasn't been able to decipher them," Elysar replied and sent a smile to a passing girl. "He thinks there lays a clue about the other Zeffo settlements."

"And is that why you're limping?" Cere asked slyly.

Elysar pursed her lips and sent Jaryn a pointed look "Are you going to tell her, Jaryn, or am I to do the honours?" It wasn't without amusement.

Jaryn's eyes instantly lit up, "Oh, we found another tomb."

"_He_ found it, more like," Elysar quipped.

Jaryn's tawny skin betrayed a tinge of blush.

Cere's brows shot up in surprise, "Another tomb?"

"It belong to a renowned Sage Eilram," Jaryn explained, his demeanour entirely changing from one of an excited child to that of a well-read scholar, "There was a fascinating inscription by his grave. Oh, and...and an engraving on one of the walls. _A tree_. It looked rather peculiar, not the kind that grow on Zeffo. Haven't seen their like in grandmother's journals either."

"This could be something, Jaryn," Cere told him, impressed, "Good job."

The boy turned his eyes away sheepishly.

"Were the electromagnetic wind levels high?" asked Elysar.

"Not as high as here, but high enough to be of interest. I think Master Cordova was right –– it used to be a Zeffo colony."

Master Cordova liked to work in the study that he had set up in a spacious, sunlit cave perched atop a small hill at the very edge of the village. Elysar, Cere and Jaryn walked into the wide mouth of the cave and found themselves in an entirely different dimension: while Zeffo was covered in forests and mountains, Cordova's workplace was swamped with books and old papers.

A series of bleeps and chirps echoed through the cave and a familiar BD unit pattered in, his wide black lenses studying the guests.

"Hey, BD," Elysar smiled down at the little droid who barely reached her knee, "Is your Master busy?"

The tiny thing gave an optimistic bleep in response and scurried away to lead them to the old explorer. During her years working with Master Cordova and his little droid on Zeffo, Elysar had somewhat begun to understand the binary language.

Cordova was buried in an ocean of books again, crazed in his quest for knowledge. He hadn't even heard the three of them come in and only budged when BD1 notified him of their arrival. At first, the old Master was slightly disoriented. Then he looked up from the old texts at Elysar, who gave him an amused smile, then at Cere. His wrinkled eyes went wide, "Oh, you're back!" he exclaimed, "Oh, and you brought the boy! Perfect, perfect timing. Come now, I have something to show you."

He ushered them closer to the table piled with books and papers and pointed to a holo-picture. Those were writings on the walls of Sage Mitkrull's tomb.

"I have unriddled them, at last," he announced with a revered expression.

"What do they say, Master Cordova?" Elysar asked.

"They speak of a creature that guards the Eye of the Wind," Cere frowned, and Elysar perfectly mirrored that expression as they both stared at the old Master. Only Jaryn seemed mildly thoughtful, as if it had heard of it, "I think young Jaryn knows what I'm talking about. And you Cere, do you remember the images from the caves on Ontotho?"

"I do, Master."

Cordova looked at Elysar and then at Jaryn as though preparing to tell a grand tale, "A strange animal was depicted in one of them, involved in a deeply religious ceremony, I believe. In fact, many civilizations considered it sacred," his expression turned expectant, "One of them were the Zeffo."

"So the Zeffo worshipped this creature?" Elysar asked, confused.

Jaryn seemed to have finally realised what Master Cordova was talking about. He gave an energetic nod, "It's called a Binog," he said and looked at the old man with a triumphant smile, "And it's native to Bogano."

Elysar couldn't help but smile too –– Master Cordova had been looking for another Zeffo settlement for almost fifteen years, and now all of his speculations had proved to be true.

"Shall we go then?" she asked, filled with bubbling excitement.

Master Cordova gave them a warm smile that promised a great adventure, "That we shall."

"Wait, but what about the tree?" said Jaryn.

Cordova's eyes glimmered with interest, "What tree do you speak of?"

Elysar sighed.

* * *

_Vrogas Vas, 31 BBY_

_one year after the blockade of Naboo_

_"Good for nothing brat!" a voice bellowed in the freezing darkness. Elysar fell to her knees, her body shaking in uncontrollable spasms. She raised her head to look at the stranger but saw only a hovering shadow._

_"I'm sorry, Master," she croaked out through pale, cracked lips, tears streaming down her ashen face._

_"I do not have need of your apologies! You're weak," the shadow spat, "I shall return you back where I found you —"_

_"No!" Elysar screamed in horror. She tried to rise, but her body wouldn't let her, "I beg you, Master!"_

_"You do not beg!" A stream of lightening hit her straight in the chest. The pain shot through Elysar's entire body, she writhed and begged and begged...But the shadow didn't cease its torture, the cave filled with the blinding blue light. Elysar felt like her heart would stop at any moment, her throat ripped apart by her screams._

_"I hate you!" she yelled. Fury was blooming in her chest like a poisonous vine, slithering its way through her body, injecting venom straight into her veins, her very being. "I hate you!"_

_"Good. _Very_ good, little one..." The shadow made a sound that chilled Elysar to the bone. A sharp laughter. A cackle. A hiss._

_"Please, don't _—_NO!"_

_"_What have I done?_" Elysar heard someone whisper before all she could see was bright blue. And all she could feel was agony._

It was a man.

Elysar opened her eyes with a gasp. It was as if her own mind had pushed her out, unable to go through the same torture again and again, only to meet the same end. She looked around in disorientation, eyes jumping around the stone walls of the sunlit meditation room and then settling on a woman sitting cross-legged in front of her.

Mistress Wo was regarding Elysar with a serene look of patience and pity that she absolutely loathed, "It is a process, Elysar," she told her, noticing the exasperation in the girl's eyes, "By seeking to rush it, you defy the very essence of what we're trying to do.

"It's been a year, Mistress Wo," Elysar bit out, voice haunted, "Why can't I just..."

"Like any malady, that of the mind needs time to heal."

Elysar wasn't convinced by the placations, her eyes glistening with stubborn tears. Mistress Wo reached out and took her by the hand. Elysar looked up at the old woman with reluctance, "I know you are afraid of what you're going to discover, Elysar. You're scared it will consume you, and this fear is does not allow you to go further."

"Maybe if I could read those books ––"

"Those books will give you no answers, at least none that you will understand. Not until you find the bravery to seek them within yourself." Elysar knew Mistress Wo was speaking the truth, but it didn't make the matter of accepting it any easier.

A year ago she'd all but abandoned the Order and came to Vrogas Vas to seek the council of the old woman by the name of Phin-Law Wo, who had been stationed at the ancient Jedi sanctum since long before Elysar was born. She still remembered waking up in the infirmary, Master Windu by her side. He had told her the blockade was over and that the Trade Federation had been defeated.

"_Obi-Wan?_" Elysar'd asked, her voice still hoarse from the injury.

"_He's alright._"

He'd saved her life that she'd so carelessly put in danger. Which meant that Elysar'd failed in her ridiculous quest. She'd failed. Whatever had given her the slightest idea she was capable of doing it? _Conquer your fear, Elysar,_ how laughable.

The amount of self-loathing she'd subjected herself to was crippling, both to her spirit and to her mind. She had spent the entirety of that time thinking what'd gone wrong, what was she so scared of?

Was it the darkness?

Was it the pain?

Was it the _fear_?

If so, _why_ was she so scared of it? _"The absence of fear is not bravery, Elysar. It's conquering it that sets you upon the right path", _Master Jinn's words had echoed in her head. He was gone now. Was Obi-Wan really alright? Elysar wanted to see him, but she didn't know if she could face him just yet.

Would she ever be able to conquer this unnamed, faceless fear that had been tormenting her for so long? _You won't_, hissed a voice. Yes, she wouldn't. Did that make her a bad Jedi? Was she a Jedi at all if she could no longer control the very thing that made her a Jedi in the first place?

She couldn't have stayed there._ I can't stay here_, she'd decided that night.

"Please," Elysar whispered, "I know I'm ready. I-I heard another voice today, the visions are getting more clear, Mistress Wo. I'm begging you," she implored and could see the old woman's resolve give way.

Mistress Wo sighed in resignation, "There is one book I will allow you to read," she relented with pursed lips, which meant that she wasn't entirely pleased with it, "Perhaps it will do you some good, child."

Many back on Coruscant whispered about Mistress Phin-Law Wo. Many said she was a rogue who'd escaped to the deserted Temple on Vrogas Vas to get away from the Order, because she'd grown disappointed with its ideals. Some said she was so deeply spiritual, she had resigned herself to the life of solitude at one of the oldest Jedi sanctuaries to date.

The Temple of Vrogas Vas was indeed a sight to see, with its mighty pillars and grand statues of legendary Jedi of the Dark Age. Mistress Wo had come here to look after the oldest and most extensive collection of old Jedi scriptures that scholars of the Vrogas Vas Temple had been cumulating for centuries. And Elysar knew that these texts held the answer to the question she had been asking all along: What is the Force in its very essence? Stripped from the Jedi ideals and prejudices, untainted by the Sith's greed and vanity. _What is the Force_? Undiluted, primal, _real_.

She had come here a year ago hoping to finally get an answer, but Mistress Wo hadn't been quick to reveal it just yet. "_You are too lost, child,_" she had told Elysar, "_What you find may consume your clouded mind._" And Elysar had agreed — she was too unstable then, too unpredictable, her connection to the Force still corrupted, faint like a broken holotransmission.

But she had made great progress under Mistress Wo's careful guidance, she really had. Elysar'd gained more control over her nightmares having vanquished the paralysing feeling of helplessness. The visions became lucid, yet still...still she couldn't see the face hiding in the shadows of the cowl.

Elysar had spent months meditating with Mistress Wo in one of the most potent vergence places in the galaxy. The old woman had told her of other spots strong in the Force, the most powerful of which, she'd said, was the Wellspring of Life — an unseen, unmarked and unmatched in its magnitude cradle of life.

"Come with me, child."

Mistress Wo led her into the Temple's only library, which seemed incredibly small compared to the Archives on Coruscant. But while those were cold and impersonal, this place smelled of old paper and history. Elysar could imagine many Jedi before her standing in the same place, breathing in hundreds of years of priceless knowledge.

The library was made entirely of stone, books shelved neatly in the hollow cavities in the walls. Mistress Wo summoned one of them from the higher levels: a modest tome clad in dusty, rugged leather.

"This journal belonged to a Shaman of the Whills," the woman said, handing Elysar the book, "Two hundred years ago, he was a pilgrim lost in the deserts of Vrogas Vas. The Jedi of this temple took him in, offered him shelter. In return, he shared with them the only thing he possessed — his knowledge."

Elysar knew that the Whills were a highly secretive order, who kept their chronicles strictly hidden and protected by an assigned Keeper. Which is why the journal she was holding in her hands was quite a rarity.

"Thank you, Mistress Wo," she said earnest gratitude, "I will not fail you."

The journal was an internal source of wisdom. With every page she turned, Elysar read things she had never even heard of before. She learned that the galaxy held more mysteries than she could've ever imagined and that the Force wasn't quite as one-sided as she'd been taught to believe.

There had always been an equilibrium, the Shaman wrote. The simple yet, for some reason, inconceivable notion that one couldn't exist without the other. The moon shone so the sun could burn, the night settled so the down could break. The darkness was there to make us see the light.

He wrote of the six priestesses of the Wellspring, of the Father, the Son and the Daughter, and the Zeffo, who had then been a prospering civilization. Every story he told spoke of the fact that the Force did not distinguish between the dark and the light — it comprised the two, and only by embracing both could one find true peace with it. The Zeffo had got the right of it, Elysar thought, for, according to the Shaman, the religion of the Wind had no concept of darkness and light. They viewed the Wind of Life as a whole, a force of nature that couldn't be stopped but embraced, granting the Sages ultimate power.

"Mistress Wo," Elysar asked one day during their meditation session, "Why do the Jedi fear the darkness so much?"

A strange wistfulness crept into the old woman's expression, "That, Elysar, might just be the Order's greatest conundrum. They claim that fear leads to the dark side and yet fear it they do. Is it not hypocritical?" She sighed, "A never-ending loop, akin to a snake eating its own tail –– with time, it's going to swallow itself whole. The Sith and the Jedi have been fighting the same war for thousands of years — two sides of the same coin — one wins and the other loses, and on and on it goes; the coin flips and generations suffer for it. But it is the fine space in-between that holds the power to change the tide."

"Is this why you came here?" Elysar asked, curious, "Because you didn't agree with the Order?"

"I came here to be with the Force, child. In the end, it's all that matters."

Elysar had been studying the journal for a year, spending hours in the stuffy library, breathing in dust from the ancient texts and crumbling shelves of stone. Mistress Wo began to notice significant improvement in her meditation sessions — Elysar seemed to reign in her fear and embrace it instead of pushing it away. Yes still, the face of the cowled stranger remained hidden.

After some time, Mistress Wo gave Elysar access to new books written by renowned Masters of the Order, and the young Knight devoured one after another, reading them whenever she had the chance, even at night, by a small fire.

* * *

_Elysar was back in the desert on the planet which she now knew was Tatooine, the two suns blazing above the dunes. Then came Anakin, saying the same words he always had and then disappearing into the sandstorm _—_ Elysar memorised the dream down to every detail._

_Which is why she was confused when it went on._

_Elysar followed little Anakin through the storm, squinting against merciless sand particles that were ruthlessly scratching her hot skin._

_"Anakin!" she yelled. He didn't stop._

_Before Elysar could make another step, a dark figure appeared in the middle of the storm. It was tall and broad-shouldered, clad in black, yet she couldn't make out the face through the curtain of sand. It just stood there, unmoving, and Elysar could almost feel its penetrating gaze directed at her._

_It was breathing, the sound heavy and machine-like..._

—_ let go, little girl_

Elysar awoke abruptly and found Mistress Wo looking at her with a gleam of fascination in her almond-shaped black eyes. They were in the meditation room again, the sun streaming through the tall pillars of the temple.

"What did you see?" she asked.

"I..." Elysar blinked a couple of times, the image of the blurry silhouette flickering in her mind, "I don't know. Mistress Wo, I've never seen this far, it's —"

The woman smiled, "You've never _allowed_ yourself to see," she corrected in a gentle, reassuring voice, "The fear had been holding you back for too long. The time has come for you to stare back into the darkness and call out its name."

"How do I do that?"

"There is a place...a wicked, evil place strong in the dark side," Mistress Wo told Elysar, her face as white as the downy hair framing it, "Yet it is one of the most powerful vergence points in the entire galaxy. There, in the dreary cave deep in the jungles of Dagobah, you will come face to face with your worst fears, Elysar," her eyes were hard, determined as she said, "And you will defy them."


End file.
